A comprehensive review of non-coding RNAs functions in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of central nervous system which affects young individuals and is associated with high morbidity. The extensive burden of this disorder has encouraged researchers to find treatment modalities which disrupt the malicious circuit between inflammatory responses and neuron destruction. Understanding the molecular underlying mechanisms is the prerequisite for establishment of these therapeutic options. Non-coding RNAs (ncRNA), one being acknowledged as transcription noises, are now being appreciated as crucial regulators of immune responses. Consequently, dysregulation of ncRNAs is one of the underlying mechanisms of immune disorders such as MS. In the current review, we summarized state-of-art studies which have assessed expression pattern and genomic variants of ncRNAs in MS. The results of these studies propose different classes of ncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs, microRNAs and circular RNAs) as diagnostic or predictive markers in MS. Most of these studies have been conducted on clinical samples. However, functional studies are absent in most cases. So, future functional studies are needed to unravel the molecular mechanisms and pave the way for establishment of novel targeted therapies.