Abstract: Disclosed herein are compositions for transcriptional regulation of a target gene, and methods of using the compositions. The compositions utilize a novel antisense RNA design that activates transcription of a target gene and involve a sense genetic construct that represses transcription of the target gene, and an antisense construct selected from an antisense activating RNA, or an antisense genetic construct encoding an antisense activating RNA, that binds to the sense genetic construct RNA to relieve repression of the target gene, thus activating expression of the gene.