Assessing the contributions of noncoding RNAs in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is caused by uncontrolled proliferation and impaired differentiation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Historically, research has emphasized the role of protein-coding genes in the development of AML. However, with the human genome project revealing that 98% of the transcriptome consists of non-protein-coding RNAs, recent studies have explored how the large classes of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) contribute to AML. Although there are many types of ncRNAs, much attention has been placed on understanding the function of long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) and small ncRNAs known as microRNAs (miRNAs). lncRNAs are >200 nucleotides, whereas mature miRNAs are typically 18 to 25 nucleotides. lncRNAs are involved in miRNA and protein sequestration and act as transcriptional and translational regulators, whereas miRNAs facilitate mRNA degradation and translational inhibition. In addition to lncRNAs and miRNAs, two additional types of ncRNAs, namely small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs), have recently garnered attention for their roles in AML. Here, we discuss how these four distinct classes of ncRNAs may aid in disease diagnosis and prognosis as well as the mechanisms by which their dysregulation contributes to AML.