DM1 locus antisense RNA (DM1-AS)

DM1 locus antisense RNA (DM1-AS) is a long non-coding RNA transcribed in the antisense direction across the myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) locus, overlapping the (CTG·CAG)n trinucleotide repeat region associated with DM1[1][3]. DM1-AS is characterized by very low tissue abundance, alternative transcription start and polyadenylation sites, and alternative splicing that may remove the (CAG)n repeat from longer transcripts[1][2][3]. Its expression is upregulated in DM1 but remains much lower than the sense DMPK mRNA in all tissues analyzed[3]. DM1-AS can form nuclear and cytoplasmic RNA foci in DM1 patient cells, which may participate in disease pathology by sequestering RNA-binding proteins, acting as templates for RAN translation of toxic peptides, forming double-stranded RNAs with the sense DMPK transcript, triggering dsRNA-responsive signaling, or contributing to chromatin structure alterations at the locus[1][3][5][7]. However, the detailed in vivo biological function and pathogenic mechanism of DM1-AS remains unclear, and, while it is of biomedical interest, it is not currently considered a druggable therapeutic target[1][3][5].

Other names

DM1 antisense RNAantisense DMPK RNA