In search of LncDACH1 – a perceived intronic long non-coding RNA lacking fundamental genomic annotation evidence

The paper “LncRNA- LncDACH1 mediated phenotypic switching of smooth muscle cells during neointimal hyperplasia in male arteriovenous fistulas” by Li et al., published in 2024 in this journal, proposes that a relatively short unspliced long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) positioned within the intron of the protein-coding gene DACH1 plays a causal role in the vascular remodelling that often occurs after arteriovenous fistula formation 1 . This is a surgical procedure for patients undergoing haemodialysis but is very often hampered by vascular malformations (stenosis and thrombosis) that result in critical failure of the fistula 2 . We have reviewed this and four prior studies 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 concerning the proposed gene lncDACH1 . We believe that fundamental questions on the annotation state of the proposed lncRNA gene have not been addressed. We find no evidence presented in the recent study or prior work that suggests the sequence targeted in experiments is a lncRNA—or indeed anything other than a part sequence of DACH1 pre-mRNA.