ABSTRACT
Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are an important and increasing health issue. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that NCDs represent 63% of all global deaths. The investigation of NCDs and their complications has involved the study of molecular characteristics in order to reveal and develop biomarkers and therapeutic targets while at the same time trying to avoid the development and progression of such diseases. Transcripts are the first expression of the phenotype, and in all living beings, the interaction of the environment with the genome modulates the production of these transcripts. Recently, the transcriptomic profile has become very important in the investigation of NCDs such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular, respiratory and neurodegenerative diseases, and it has been used for the characterization of patients, description of disease subtypes and the effectiveness of new therapies. The new technologies have led to the generation of sequencing methods such as RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) for the discovery of the complete content of the cellular transcriptome, allowing to identify gene expression levels, splice forms, and non-coding RNA. Currently, transcriptome analysis is a tool used to identify novel disease biomarkers and molecular targets, in order to improve therapies and customize the management of the NCDs.
