Database Commons

a catalog of worldwide biological databases

BACKGROUND: Recent studies have demonstrated the importance of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in chromatin remodeling, and in transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation. However, only a few specific lncRNAs are well understood, whereas others are completely uncharacterized. To address this, there is a need for user-friendly platform to studying the putative regulatory functions of human lncRNAs.
DESCRIPTION: lncRNAMap is an integrated and comprehensive database relating to exploration of the putative regulatory functions of human lncRNAs with two mechanisms of regulation, by encoding siRNAs and by acting as miRNA decoys. To investigate lncRNAs producing siRNAs that regulate protein-coding genes, lncRNAMap integrated small RNAs (sRNAs) that were supported by publicly available deep sequencing data from various sRNA libraries and constructed lncRNA-derived siRNA-target interactions. In addition, lncRNAMap demonstrated that lncRNAs can act as targets for miRNAs that would otherwise regulate protein-coding genes. Previously studies indicated that intergenic lncRNAs (lincRNAs) either positive or negative regulated neighboring genes, therefore, lncRNAMap surveyed neighboring genes within a 1Mb distance from the genomic location of specific lncRNAs and provided the expression profiles of lncRNA and its neighboring genes. The gene expression profiles may supply the relationship between lncRNA and its neighboring genes.
CONCLUSIONS: lncRNAMap is a powerful user-friendly platform for the investigation of putative regulatory functions of human lncRNAs with producing siRNAs and acting as miRNA decoy. lncRNAMap is freely available on the web at http://lncRNAMap.mbc.nctu.edu.tw/.