Abstract: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a class of RNAs that are more than 200 nucleotides in length but have low protein-coding potential. As important members of the non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) family, lncRNAs play a regulatory role in many important diseases. Endometriosis (EMs) is a gynecological disease that seriously harms the health of women of childbearing age, which is closely related to lncRNAs. The current study found that many lncRNAs are differentially expressed in EMs tissues. Further studies have found that lncRNAs are involved in the risk factors of EMs, and that lncRNAs promote the epithelial mesenchymal transition of EMs. LncRNAs are also involved in the regulation of proliferation, migration and cell cycle of EMs cells, and affect the fertility of patients with EMs. By screening patients′ serum and tissue samples, some of lncRNAs have been found to be potential molecular biomarkers for the diagnosis of EMs. In this article, the research progress of the relationship between lncRNAs and EMs was discussed, in order to provide new ideas for the diagnosis and treatment of EMs.

Key words: Long non-coding RNAs, RNA, Endometriosis, Genome-wide association studies, Sequence analysis, Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, Genetic markers