NDRG1 is a member of the α/β hydrolase superfamily that resides in the cytoplasm and participates in the stress responses, hormone response, cell growth, and differentiation. Several studies have pointed to the importance of NDRG1 in the carcinogenesis. This gene has been found to be up-regulated in an array of cancer types such as bladder, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, endometrial, lung and liver cancers, but being down-regulated in other types of cancers such as colorectal, gastric and ovarian cancers. The current study summarizes the evidence on the role of NDRG1 in the carcinogenic processes in different types of tissues.

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Bipolar disorder (BD) is a mental disorder that leads to abnormal swings in mood, energy, activity level, attention, and the capability to accomplish daily tasks. Several long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are dysregulated in BD patients. We have compared expression levels of five NF-κB-associated lncRNAs, namely ANRIL, CEBPA-DT, H19, NKILA and HNF1A-AS1 in blood samples of BD patients compared with controls. While ANRIL, CEBPA-DT and HNF1-AS1 were significantly under-expressed in BD patients compared with controls, NKILA levels were higher in patients versus controls. Among differentially expressed genes, HFN1A-AS1 exhibited the best diagnostic parameters in the separation of patients from controls (AUC ± SD = 0.86 ± 0.03, sensitivity = 0.82, specificity = 0.82, P value < 0.0001). AUC values for NKILA, ANRIL and CEBPA-DT were 0.71, 0.68 and 0.65, respectively. In accordance with the previously reported participation of NF-ƙB in the pathophysiology of BD, the current study provides evidence for dysregulation of NF-κB-associated lncRNAs in BD.