Active enhancers in mammals produce enhancer RNAs (eRNAs) that are 
bidirectionally transcribed, unspliced, and unstable. Enhancer regions are also 
enriched with long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) transcripts, which are typically 
spliced and substantially more stable. In order to explore the relationship 
between these two classes of RNAs, we analyzed DNase hypersensitive sites with 
evidence of bidirectional transcription, which we termed eRNA-producing centers 
(EPCs). EPCs found very close to transcription start sites of lncRNAs exhibit 
attributes of both enhancers and promoters, including distinctive DNA motifs and 
a characteristic chromatin landscape. These EPCs are associated with higher 
enhancer activity, driven at least in part by the presence of conserved, 
directional splicing signals that promote lncRNA production, pointing at a 
causal role of lncRNA processing in enhancer activity. Together, our results 
suggest that the conserved ability of some enhancers to produce lncRNAs augments 
their activity in a manner likely mediated through lncRNA maturation.