Oligodendrocyte maturation-associated long intergenic non-coding RNA (OLMALINC)

Oligodendrocyte maturation-associated long intergenic non-coding RNA (OLMALINC) is a primate-specific long intergenic non-coding RNA (lincRNA) with high expression in the white matter of the human brain, particularly in oligodendrocytes, the principal myelinating cells of the central nervous system. OLMALINC is implicated in the regulation of oligodendrocyte maturation by modulating the expression of genes critical for cytostructure, cell activation, and membrane signaling. Knockdown of OLMALINC in cultured oligodendrocytes alters expression of key differentiation and myelination genes, such as SOX4, GPR126, and EGR1, indicating a functional role in neural cell lineage specification and myelination. OLMALINC acts in some contexts as an enhancer RNA (eRNA) and can regulate genes such as SCD, which may connect it to metabolic pathways. OLMALINC expression is tissue-specific and mostly restricted to the human brain, and it may also participate in cellular reprogramming events in pathological settings, including renal interstitial fibroblast differentiation important for Randall’s plaque (kidney stone) formation. There are currently no direct reports of OLMALINC being targeted by therapeutic drugs, nor is it considered a canonical receptor or enzyme drug target.

Other names

bA34D15.5FLJ12974HI-LNC80Human Islet Long Non Coding RNA 80oligodendrocyte maturation-associated long intervening non-coding RNAC10orf75LINC00263NCRNA00263OLMALINC-ASlong intergenic non-protein coding RNA 263