Genome-wide analysis of long noncoding RNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of uremia patients.

BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts longer than ~200 nucleotides with little or no protein-coding capacity. There is evidence that the lncRNAs are involved in a variety of biological functions and are associated with human diseases. The aim of this study was to reveal any potential lncRNA regulatory mechanism in uremia.

METHODS: Blood samples were obtained from 20 uremic patients not on dialysis and 20 healthy volunteers. The genome-wide analysis of lncRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells was completed by microarray assay and validated by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (real-time qRT-PCR) analysis. Differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were identified through fold-change filtering. Gene ontology analysis and pathway analysis were performed with the standard enrichment computation method. The relationship between lncRNAs and adjacent protein-coding genes was determined by complex transcriptional loci analysis.

RESULTS: We identified thousands of lncRNAs and mRNA that were differentially expressed in uremic patients. Some lncRNAs are transcribed in complex loci with overlapping and antisense patterns relative to adjacent protein-coding genes. Differential expression of ZAP70 and BC133674 (ZAP70-ncRNA) was confirmed by RT-PCR.

CONCLUSIONS: Some lncRNAs and their associated protein-coding genes are closely related and may be part of a potential regulatory mechanism of uremia, and lncRNAs will provide additional opportunities to advance our understanding of the basic biology of uremia.