Non-coding RNAs have been linked to various diseases including focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). The revolution in sequencing technology has opened up entirely new opportunities regarding the discovery of novel transcripts. It is now widely agreed that around 80% of the human genome is transcribed in a cell-type and context-specific manner. The vast majority of all transcripts lacks any protein coding potential. Among these non-coding transcripts, the novel class of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) has gained major attention due to an increasing number of studies showing its importance in organ development and disease. However, how this occurs on the molecular level and how lncRNAs impact on organ function and disease has – albeit few exceptions – remained elusive with virtually no data at all regarding FSGS. We are studying the role of lncRNAs in FSGS to exploit the great potential of this emerging field for identifying novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets.
Project related publications
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