Emerging role of long noncoding RNAs and circular RNAs in pancreatic β cells

The advent of high-throughput genomic technologies revealed the expression of thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) in human. Both classes of RNAs have limited or no protein coding potential. Both lncRNAs and circRNAs regulates gene expression by interacting with target DNA, RNA or proteins. Accumulating studies have demonstrated that lncRNAs and circRNAs play important role in various human diseases, including diabetes. Pancreatic β cell function is at the core of development of diabetes. This review will highlight the present knowledge about the role of lncRNAs and circRNAs in pancreatic β cell function and their association with development of diabetes.