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Abstract
Pseudogenes have long been labeled as "junk" DNA, failed copies of genes that arise
during the evolution of genomes. However, recent results are challenging this moniker;
indeed, some pseudogenes appear to harbor the potential to regulate their protein-coding
cousins. Far from being silent relics, many pseudogenes are transcribed into RNA,
some exhibiting a tissue-specific pattern of activation. Pseudogene transcripts can
be processed into short interfering RNAs that regulate coding genes through the RNAi
pathway. In another remarkable discovery, it has been shown that pseudogenes are capable
of regulating tumor suppressors and oncogenes by acting as microRNA decoys. The finding
that pseudogenes are often deregulated during cancer progression warrants further
investigation into the true extent of pseudogene function. In this review, we describe
the ways in which pseudogenes exert their effect on coding genes and explore the role
of pseudogenes in the increasingly complex web of noncoding RNA that contributes to
normal cellular regulation.