Recent insights into the functions and mechanisms of antisense RNA: emerging applications in cancer therapy and precision medicine

Sep 21, 2026

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Recent insights into antisense RNA explain how antisense transcripts—typically 19–23 nucleotides and complementary to mRNA—regulate gene expression across replication, transcription, and translation. The review highlights both natural and artificial antisense RNAs that modulate gene regulation in host cells, including roles in X-chromosome inactivation and imprinted silencing. It emphasizes that aberrantly expressed antisense RNAs in cancer can promote epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes, supporting precision medicine. It further discusses antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and long noncoding RNA mechanisms, including dysregulated NATs.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Antisense transcripts as gene expression regulators

Antisense RNAs in cancer development and progression

Roles of noncoding RNA categories

Therapeutic applications and emerging examples

TYPE Review PUBLISHED 10 January 2024 DOI 10.3389/fchem.2023.1335330 OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Syed Shams ul Hassan, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China REVIEWED BY Naveed Ahmad, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China Pavel Horky, Mendel University in Brno, Czechia *CORRESPONDENCE Mengzhi Wang, [mzwang@yzu.edu.cn](mzwang@yzu.edu.cn)[ ](mzwang@yzu.edu.cn)Hengmi Cui, [hmcui@yzu.edu.cn](hmcui@yzu.edu.cn) †These authors have contributed equally to this work and share ﬁrst authorship RECEIVED 08 November 2023 ACCEPTED 19 December 2023 PUBLISHED 10 January 2024 CITATION Rehman SU, Ullah N, Zhang Z, Zhen Y, Din A-U, Cui H and Wang M (2024), Recent insights into the functions and mechanisms of antisense RNA: emerging applications in cancer therapy and precision medicine. Front. Chem. 11:1335330 . doi: 10.3389/fchem.2023.1335330 COPYRIGHT © 2024 Rehman, Ullah, Zhang, Zhen, Din, Cui and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. Recent insights into the functions and mechanisms of antisense RNA: emerging applications in cancer therapy and precision medicine Shahab Ur Rehman 1, Numan Ullah 1†, Zhenbin Zhang 1, Yongkang Zhen 2, Aziz-Ud Din 3, Hengmi Cui 1,4* and Mengzhi Wang 1,2* 1College of Animals Science and Technology Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China, 2College of Animals Nutrition Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China, 3Department of Human Genetics, Hazara University Mansehra, Mansehra, Pakistan, 4Institute of Epigenetics and Epigenomics Yangzhou University, College of Animal Nutrition Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China The antisense RNA molecule is a unique DNA transcript consisting of 19–23 nucleotides, characterized by its complementary nature to mRNA. These antisense RNAs play a crucial role in regulating gene expression at various stages, including replication, transcription, and translation. Additionally, artiﬁcial antisense RNAs have demonstrated their ability to effectively modulate gene expression in host cells. Consequently, there has been a substantial increase in research dedicated to investigating the roles of antisense RNAs. These molecules have been found to be inﬂuential in various cellular processes, such as X-chromosome inactivation and imprinted silencing in healthy cells. However, it is important to recognize that in cancer cells; aberrantly expressed antisense RNAs can trigger the epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes. Moreover, the presence of deletion-induced aberrant antisense RNAs can lead to the development of diseases through epigenetic silencing. One area of drug development worth mentioning is antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), and a prime example of an oncogenic trans-acting long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) is HOTAIR (HOX transcript antisense RNA) . NATs (noncoding antisense transcripts) are dysregulated in many cancers, and researchers are just beginning to unravel their roles as crucial regulators of cancer ’s hallmarks, as well as their potential for cancer therapy. In this review, we summarize the emerging roles and mechanisms of antisense RNA and explore their application in cancer therapy. KEYWORDS AntisenseRNA, epigenetics regulation, cancer therapy, precision medicine, RNA biology 1 Introduction Antisense transcripts, which were previously regarded as mere transcriptional noise, are currently recognized as signiﬁcant regulators of gene expression (Kumar and Carmichael, 1998) . It is now widely understood that antisense RNAs (asRNAs) are abundant across all biological kingdoms. An estimated 50% of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in h

FAQs

What is antisense RNA and how does it regulate gene expression?

Antisense RNAs are DNA transcripts (19–23 nucleotides) complementary to mRNA. They regulate gene expression at multiple stages, including replication, transcription, and translation, and artificial antisense RNAs can also modulate gene expression in host cells.

How do antisense RNAs relate to cancer biology?

Aberrantly expressed antisense RNAs in cancer cells can trigger epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes. Deletion-induced aberrant antisense RNAs may also contribute to disease through epigenetic silencing.

What therapeutic applications are discussed for antisense RNA in cancer treatment?

The review focuses on emerging roles and mechanisms of antisense RNA and explores applications in cancer therapy. It specifically mentions antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and dysregulated noncoding antisense transcripts (NATs) as potential regulators of cancer hallmarks.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Logic