Prediction and prioritization of autism-associated long non-coding RNAs using gene expression and sequence features.

Journal: BMC bioinformatics
Published Date:

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) refer to a range of neurodevelopmental conditions, which are genetically complex and heterogeneous with most of the genetic risk factors also found in the unaffected general population. Although all the currently known ASD risk genes code for proteins, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) as essential regulators of gene expression have been implicated in ASD. Some lncRNAs show altered expression levels in autistic brains, but their roles in ASD pathogenesis are still unclear.

Authors

  • Jun Wang
    Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and the Department of Neurology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
  • Liangjiang Wang
    Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. liangjw@clemson.edu.