Genomic imprinting has been a great resource for studying transcriptional and 
post-transcriptional-based gene regulation by long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). In 
this article, I overview the functional role of intergenic lncRNAs (H19, IPW, 
and MEG3), antisense lncRNAs (Kcnq1ot1, Airn, Nespas, Ube3a-ATS), and enhancer 
lncRNAs (IG-DMR eRNAs) to understand the diverse mechanisms being employed by 
them in cis and/or trans to regulate the parent-of-origin-specific expression of 
target genes. Recent evidence suggests that some of the lncRNAs regulate 
imprinting by promoting intra-chromosomal higher-order chromatin 
compartmentalization, affecting replication timing and subnuclear positioning. 
Whereas others act via transcriptional occlusion or transcriptional 
collision-based mechanisms. By establishing genomic imprinting of target genes, 
the lncRNAs play a critical role in important biological functions, such as 
placental and embryonic growth, pluripotency maintenance, cell differentiation, 
and neural-related functions such as synaptic development and plasticity. An 
emerging consensus from the recent evidence is that the imprinted lncRNAs 
fine-tune gene expression of the protein-coding genes to maintain their dosage 
in cell. Hence, lncRNAs from imprinted clusters offer insights into their mode 
of action, and these mechanisms have been the basis for uncovering the mode of 
action of lncRNAs in several other biological contexts. This article is part of 
a Special Issue entitled: Clues to long noncoding RNA taxonomy, edited by Dr. 
Tetsuro Hirose and Dr. Shinichi Nakagawa.