Frontiers in Pharmacology (Nov 2018)

Peptides/Proteins Encoded by Non-coding RNA: A Novel Resource Bank for Drug Targets and Biomarkers

  • Song Zhu,
  • Song Zhu,
  • Jizhong Wang,
  • Jizhong Wang,
  • Yutian He,
  • Yutian He,
  • Nan Meng,
  • Nan Meng,
  • Guang-Rong Yan,
  • Guang-Rong Yan

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2018.01295
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9

Abstract

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Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are defined as RNA molecules that do not encode proteins, but recent evidence has proven that peptides/proteins encoded by ncRNAs do indeed exist and usually contain less than 100 amino acids. These peptides/proteins play an important role in regulating tumor energy metabolism, epithelial to mesenchymal transition of cancer cells, the stability of the c-Myc oncoprotein, and the ubiquitination and degradation of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). These peptides/proteins represent promising drug targets for fighting against tumor growth or biomarkers for predicting the prognosis of cancer patients. In this review, we summarize the characteristics of peptides/proteins that have recently been identified as putative ncRNA translation products and their outlook for small molecule peptide drugs, drug targets, and biomarkers.

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