Unravelling of the role of long noncoding RNAs in haematopoiesis

The formation of all blood cells requires tight coordination of highly specific yet dynamic gene expression programmes. These programmes are established by integrated networks of transcription factors, chromatin modifiers and regulatory RNAs. Recent advances have revealed that special types of RNAs, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), are critical components in these networks. lncRNAs are activated in cell type-, developmental stage- and context-specific manners to coordinate gene expression via transcriptional or post-transcriptional mechanisms. They can function via RNA–DNA, RNA–RNA and RNA–protein interactions and can thus affect the activation of genes or the splicing, stability or translation of their transcripts. As a result, distinct collections of lncRNA regulators help modulate the stepwise development of distinct blood cell types. We highlight recent progress, emerging themes and prospective challenges in unravelling the contributions of lncRNAs to haematopoiesis, as well as their implication in blood diseases such as leukaemia.