Long non-coding RNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for ischemic stroke

The problem of ischemic stroke (IS) has become increasingly important in recent years, as it ranks first in the structure of disability and mortality, crowding out other vascular diseases. In this regard, the study of this pathology and the search for new therapeutic and diagnostic tools remains an urgent problem of modern medical science and practice. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs)-based therapeutics and diagnostic tools offer a very attractive area of study. Therefore, this systematic review aims at summarizing current knowledge on promising lncRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for IS exploring original articles and literature reviews on in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo experiments.

The current systematic review was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. PubMed, MEDLINE and Google Scholar databases were comprehensively explored to perform the article search.

34 eligible studies were included and analyzed: 25 focused on lncRNAs-based therapeutics and 9 on lncRNAs-based diagnosis. We found 31 different lncRNAs tested as potential therapeutic and diagnostic molecules in cells and animal model experiments. Among all founded lncRNA-based therapeutics and non-invasive diagnostic tools, nuclear enriched abundant transcript 1 (NEAT1) emerged to be the most investigated and proposed as a potential molecule for IS diagnosis and treatment.

Our analysis provides a snapshot of the current scenario regarding the lncRNAs as therapeutic molecules and biomarkers in IS. Different lncRNAs are differently expressed in IS, and some of them can be further evaluated as therapeutic targets and biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis or treatment response. However, despite many efforts, none of the selected studies go beyond preclinical studies, and their translation into clinical practice seems to be very premature.