Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and microRNAs regulatory pathways in the tumorigenesis and pathogenesis of glioma.

A number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been identified to play an important role in the initiation and progression of glioma, including the stemness, survival, apoptosis, invasion, and drug resistance. However, the complex regulatory mechanisms of lncRNAs have not been well understood in glioma. Emerging evidence has confirmed that lncRNAs may act as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) or a molecular sponge in modulating microRNAs (miRNAs), and the miRNAs negatively regulate target mRNA expression through complementarity binding to the 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR) of their target mRNAs. These interactions constitute complex signaling pathways in glioma, such as the lncRNAs/miRNAs/Wnt/β-catenin pathway, the lncRNAs/miRNAs/PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway, the lncRNAs/miRNAs/Notch pathway, the lncRNAs-miRNAs/MAPK kinase pathway, and the lncRNAs/miRNAs/NF-κB pathway. In this review, the underlying roles and molecular mechanisms of the lncRNAs and miRNAs pathway regulation network in glioma were summarized for a better understanding of tumorigenesis and pathogenesis of glioma.