LINC01871 is exclusively expressed in T and NK cells and is highly induced upon CD4+ T cell activation.

Long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) regulate biological processes in health and disease. Recent findings highlight the importance of lincRNAs in regulating T cell development and function. Here, we identified a lincRNA, LINC01871, which is highly induced upon CD4+ T cell activation and is predominantly located in the cytoplasm. The anti-inflammatory cytokine TGF-β was found to suppress its expression. Silencing LINC01871 led to a modest decrease in IL-2 secretion. Notably, LINC01871 expression was highly specific to NK cells and T cells in several cross-tissue single cell RNA-seq atlases. These data suggest that LINC01871 is specifically expressed in T and NK cells and may contribute to T cell-mediated immunity in humans.