Confounders of lncRNA screens: sources, consequences and possible solutions

TL;DR - A Nature Methods analysis warns that high-throughput lncRNA perturbation screens can produce unexpectedly high false-positive rates due to technical and analytical confounders. Identifying and mitigating these artifacts is essential for reliable conclusions about lncRNA function.

• Re-analysis of published lncRNA screens uncovered high false-positive rates in some studies.
• Genetic perturbation screens appear more susceptible to methodological artifacts for lncRNAs than for protein-coding genes.
• The article identifies common technical and analytical sources of spurious findings.
• It outlines strategies to detect, monitor, and mitigate confounders in future screens.