The role of non-coding RNAs in haemoglobin regulation

Non-coding RNAs appear to play a role in gene regulation by modulating chromatin structure. There is mounting evidence suggesting an essential role for non-coding RNAs in the complex process of the genetic regulation of the β-globin locus. Preliminary observations indicate that the BGL3 non-coding transcript may be involved in an RNA-protein interaction and may be interacting with chromatin in the β-globin locus as part of a regulatory function within the locus. However, the expression profile of this non-coding transcript has not yet been characterized and nothing is known about its mode of action. Here it is shown that the BGL3 transcript is dynamically up-regulated upon haemin induction of the K562 cell line (a human erythroleukemic cell line). To determine whether there is a correlation between the BGL3 transcript expression and the expression of the γ- and β-globin genes, the levels of the BGL3 transcript in K562 cells were perturbed by knocking it down using the RNA interference pathway. The effect of the knockdown of the BGL3 transcript was tested on the expression levels of the γ- and β-globin genes, which were quantified using qRT-PCR. Our results are the first, to our knowledge, that describe a developmentally regulated expression of the BGL3 non-coding transcript in haemin-induced K562 cells, and provide evidence that suggests that this transcript may be involved in the silencing of the β-globin gene.