Differential lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of mild and severe influenza-associated pneumonia patients

This study was to compare the Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNA) and messenger RNA (mRNA) expression profiles, their related biological functions, and pathways in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with mild and severe influenza associated pneumonia (IAP). Initially,10 mild and 10 severe IAP patients were enrolled. RNA samples were extracted from the PBMCs of those patients and comprehensive lncRNA and mRNA profiles were examined using Clariom™ D microarrays. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome (KEGG) analysis were used to predict the function and signaling pathways affected by the differentially expressed mRNA. LncRNA-mRNA interaction network was performed to explore the synergistic effect of differentially expressed lncRNAs and their function-related mRNAs. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was carried out to verify the microarray results. A total of 40 upregulated and 40 downregulated lncRNAs and 120 upregulated and 60 downregulated mRNAs were identified using microarray analysis. A total of 23 GO items were significantly associated with related differential expressed mRNA. KEGG pathway analysis demonstrated that nuclear factor-κB (NF‐κB) signaling pathway, mitogen‐activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway were significantly related to those differentially expressed mRNAs. LncRNA-mRNA network analysis identified several key lncRNAs and mRNAs including NONHSAT105043, SBDSP1, CA5BP1, DDX3X, and IL-4R. Altogether, our data signify that the differently expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs identified in the current study as well as the related signaling pathways may provide systematic information for understanding the pathogenesis of IAP.