Pathophysiological roles, molecular interactions and clinical implications of long non-coding RNA CCAT2 in human cancer

Less than 2% of human genome has protein-coding ability, while over 90% is transcribed into non-coding RNA (ncRNA). NcRNA can be divided into small ncRNAs (<200 nucleotides) and long ncR-NAs (>200 nucleotides). Small ncRNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), small interfering RNAs (siR-NAs), and others have been investigated in recent years and recognized as key players in regulating cellular processes and diseases, including cancer. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) attracted increasing attention in recent years as researchers have revealed their crucial roles as regulators in embryogenesis, stem cell biology, and development. Furthermore, growing evidence indicates that dysregulation of lncRNAs is involved in cancer, and the regulatory functions and mechanisms of lncRNAs in human carcinomas have begun to emerge. Colon cancer-associated transcript 2 (CCAT2) is a lncRNA transcribed from human 8q24 gene desert, which has been recently found to be deregulated in several tumor types. In this review, we will briefly analyse the roles and mechanisms of lncRNAs CCAT2 involvement in human cancer, and we will discuss the future perspectives for research and clinical applications.