LncRNA-Dependent Mechanisms of Transforming Growth Factor-ß: From Tissue Fibrosis to Cancer Progression.

Transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) is a crucial pathogenic mediator of inflammatory diseases. In tissue fibrosis, TGF-ß regulates the pathogenic activity of infiltrated immunocytes and promotes extracellular matrix production via de novo myofibroblast generation and kidney cell activation. In cancer, TGF-ß promotes cancer invasion and metastasis by enhancing the stemness and epithelial mesenchymal transition of cancer cells. However, TGF-ß is highly pleiotropic in both tissue fibrosis and cancers, and thus, direct targeting of TGF-ß may also block its protective anti-inflammatory and tumor-suppressive effects, resulting in undesirable outcomes. Increasing evidence suggests the involvement of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in TGF-ß-driven tissue fibrosis and cancer progression with a high cell-type and disease specificity, serving as an ideal target for therapeutic development. In this review, the mechanism and translational potential of TGF-ß-associated lncRNAs in tissue fibrosis and cancer will be discussed.