Role of Hypoxia Associated LncRNA in Cancer Chemotherapy Resistance

Hypoxia is a well-known characteristic of the tumor microenvironment that significantly influences cancer development and is closely linked to unfavorable outcomes. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are part of the noncoding genome, have garnered increasing attention because of their varied functions in the tumor metastasis. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are defined as noncoding RNAs that are longer than 200 nucleotides. LncRNAs are regulators of diverse cellular processes by modulating gene expression at transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic level. Hypoxia is a well-established environmental factor that enhances the metastasis of solid tumors. Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) represents one of the key mechanisms triggered by hypoxia that contributes to metastasis. Numerous lncRNAs have been identified as being upregulated by hypoxia. These lncRNA significantly contributes towards cancer cells migration, invasion and metastasis. Recent studies have identified a crucial role of these hypoxia induced lncRNA towards chemotherapy resistance. These hypoxia related lncRNAs can be plausible therapeutic targets for devising effective cancer therapies.