Identification and functional profiling of differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs in nasal mucosa with allergic rhinitis

Abstract

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been proved to play important roles in a variety of human immune diseases. However, their pathological effects on the development of allergic rhinitis (AR) have not been clearly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the expression profile of lncRNAs in nasal mucosa of AR patients by lncRNA microarray and to predict potential roles of specific lncRNAs in the pathogenic mechanisms of AR by analysis of lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network, Gene Ontology (GO) and pathway. The lncRNA microarray analysis showed that a total of 2,259 lncRNAs (1,033 up-regulated and 1,226 down-regulated) and 704 mRNAs (157 up-regulated and 547 down-regulated) were significantly differentially expressed in the nasal mucosa samples from 4 AR patients as compared to those from 4 non-allergic subjects (fold change > 2; P < 0.05). In addition, the lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network contained 143 network nodes including 76 lncRNAs and 67 mRNAs, in which 117 significant correlation pairs presented as positive, and 108 pairs presented as negative. The results from GO and pathway analysis indicated that the lncRNAs–coexpressed mRNAs were enriched in several biological processes and cellular signaling pathways related to AR development, such as positive regulation of interleukin-13 secretion, Fc epsilon RI signaling pathway and NF-kappa B signaling pathway. To summary, our study provides important information on the molecular mechanisms and biological functions of these AR-related lncRNAs, which could be utilized for developing novel therapeutic strategies for AR.