Emerging roles of long non-coding RNAs in spinal cord injury

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is the most serious complication of spinal injury and often leads to severe dysfunction of the limb below the injured segment. SCI causes not only serious physical and psychological harm to the patients, but imposes an enormous economic burden on the whole society. Great efforts have been made to improve the functional outcomes of patients with SCI; however, therapeutic advances have far been limited. Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) is an important regulator of gene expression and has recently been characterized as a key regulator of central nervous system stabilization. Emerging evidence suggested that lncRNAs are significantly dysregulated and play a key role in the development of SCI. Our review summarizes current researches regarding the roles of deregulated lncRNAs in modulating apoptosis, inflammatory response, neuronal behavior in SCI. These studies suggest that specific regulation of lncRNA or its downstream targets may provide a new therapeutic approach for this desperate disease.