Figure 1.

Classification of lncRNA based on the mechanism of action. LncRNA-mediated transcriptiona lregulation through four archetypes based on their molecular mechanism. LncRNAs that belong to the “signaling archetype”: they act as molecular signal activating or silencing genes depending on the stimulus (I); “decoy archetype”: the lncRNAs act asdecoys that bind to and interfere with another sequence or structure for binding, considered like negative regulators (II); “guide archetype”: the lncRNAs bind to specific proteins and transport them to the specific target sequence. The interaction may be direct (between lncRNA-protein complex and the DNA) or indirect (between lncRNA-protein and protein-DNA complexes) (III); “scaffold archetype”: lncRNAs act by bringing proteins into a complex or in spatial proximity to facilitate the interaction (IV).