The LincRNA HOTAIRM1, Located in the HOXA Genomic Region, Impacts Prognosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and is Associated with a Distinctive Microrna Signature

Background: Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have recently emerged as key regulators of diverse cellular processes, including leukemia. ncRNAs are classified according to their size as short (eg, microRNAs) or long ncRNAs. lincRNAs are long ncRNAs located in intergenic regions and have multiple regulatory functions, including gene expression regulation. Interestingly, active crosstalk between microRNAs and lincRNAs has been observed. lincRNAs are known to be deregulated in some cancers but their importance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is so far unknown. HOX genes play an important role in hematopoiesis and are deregulated in AML. lincRNAs are especially abundant in the clusters of HOX genes. HOTAIRM1, a myeloid lineage-specific lincRNA, is located at the 3’end of the HOXA cluster and seems to play a regulatory role in myelopoiesis. However, to date the potential prognostic role of HOTAIRM1 expression in AML has not been examined.