The Regulatory Potential of Long Non-Coding RNAs in Bipolar Disorder

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by mood swings between mania and depression, sharing overlapping symptomatic and genetic risk factors with other mood disorders. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) show specific spatiotemporal precision in distinct cell types in the human brain, and understanding the precise mechanisms of lncRNAs in mood switching in BD is fundamental to deciphering the key molecular networks underlying BD diagnosis and therapy. In this review, we summarize the classification of BD subtypes, the differences between BD and multiple mood disorders, and the functional potential of lncRNAs in BD. Future studies of these lncRNAs will facilitate the development of RNA-based diagnosis for BD.