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PubMed2026

ceRNA network of lncRNAs and mRNAs in OSF-to-OSCC progression: Diagnostic biomarkers and functional pathways.

BACKGROUND: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a chronic potentially malignant disorder that can progress to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Although dysregulated non-coding RNAs have been implicated in oral carcinogenesis, the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA)-mediated regulatory mechanisms underlying OSF-to-OSCC progression remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify candidate regulatory molecules and construct a putative lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network associated with malignant transformation. METHODS: Publicly available microarray datasets (GSE117973 and GSE125866) were analyzed to identify differentially expressed genes between OSF and OSCC. Differentially expressed transcripts were classified into mRNAs and lncRNAs based on public transcript annotations. Highly correlated lncRNA-mRNA pairs were identified using Pearson correlation analysis and integrated with multiMiR-supported miRNA-mRNA interactions obtained from public databases to construct a putative ceRNA regulatory network. Functional characterization focused on apoptosis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and immune checkpoint-related pathways. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate diagnostic performance, and selected biomarkers were externally validated using The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) OSCC cohort. RESULTS: Integrated transcriptomic analysis identified several dysregulated mRNAs and lncRNAs associated with OSF-to-OSCC progression. Network analysis highlighted TBC1D3B, RREB1, TEAD3, SREBF1, TMEM41B, FOXK2, and KIAA1958 as prominent hub genes within the putative regulatory network. Functional analyses demonstrated significant associations with apoptosis-, EMT-, and immune checkpoint-related genes, suggesting potential involvement in multiple biological processes contributing to malignant transformation. Several hub genes exhibited strong diagnostic performance, with ROC analysis yielding AUC values ranging from 0.891 to 1.000, indicating excellent discrimination between OSF and OSCC samples. External validation using TCGA further supported the relevance of the identified biomarkers in OSCC. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a comprehensive transcriptomic framework describing putative lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory interactions associated with OSF progression to OSCC. The identified hub genes and regulatory networks represent candidate biomarkers for early detection and provide a foundation for future mechanistic and experimental validation. As the proposed ceRNA interactions are computationally inferred, further biological validation is required before clinical application.

RNA, Long Noncoding↗

PubMed2026

A Comparative Analysis of the Methylation Status of Non-Coding RNA Promoters in Fibroid and Matched Myometrium.

Uterine fibroids exhibit dysregulated expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), although the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. We investigated promoter DNA methylation and its relationship with ncRNA expression in fibroids. Genomic DNA from eight paired fibroid and matched myometrial tissues was analyzed using MeDIP-chip to identify differentially methylated ncRNA promoters. Selected candidates were validated by methylation-specific PCR (MSP) in 16 paired samples, and transcript expression was assessed by qRT-PCR in 68-94 paired specimens. MeDIP-chip identified 538 lncRNAs and 61 miRNAs with differential promoter methylation, including 300 hypermethylated and 238 hypomethylated lncRNAs and 47 hypermethylated and 14 hypomethylated miRNAs. Promoter methylation was not significantly correlated with transcript expression (r = -0.1224). MSP confirmed hypermethylation of LINC-PINT and MIR9-3 and hypomethylation of WT1-AS and TTLL10-AS1. Correspondingly, LINC-PINT and MIR9-3 expression was decreased, whereas WT1-AS and TTLL10-AS1 expression was increased in fibroids. However, LINC-PINT and TTLL10-AS1 methylation did not fully correspond with MeDIP-chip findings. These results reveal widespread ncRNA promoter methylation alterations in uterine fibroids but demonstrate that genome-wide methylation does not consistently predict transcript expression, highlighting the complexity of ncRNA epigenetic regulation and the importance of locus-specific validation.

Humans↗

PubMed2024

CRISPRi screens identify the lncRNA, LOUP, as a multifunctional locus regulating macrophage differentiation and inflammatory signaling.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) account for the largest portion of RNA from the transcriptome, yet most of their functions remain unknown. Here, we performed two independent high-throughput CRISPRi screens to understand the role of lncRNAs in monocyte function and differentiation. The first was a reporter-based screen to identify lncRNAs that regulate TLR4-NFkB signaling in human monocytes and the second screen identified lncRNAs involved in monocyte to macrophage differentiation. We successfully identified numerous noncoding and protein-coding genes that can positively or negatively regulate inflammation and differentiation. To understand the functional roles of lncRNAs in both processes, we chose to further study the lncRNA LOUP [lncRNA originating from upstream regulatory element of SPI1 (also known as PU.1)], as it emerged as a top hit in both screens. Not only does LOUP regulate its neighboring gene, the myeloid fate-determining factor SPI1, thereby affecting monocyte to macrophage differentiation, but knockdown of LOUP leads to a broad upregulation of NFkB-targeted genes at baseline and upon TLR4-NFkB activation. LOUP also harbors three small open reading frames capable of being translated and are responsible for LOUP's ability to negatively regulate TLR4/NFkB signaling. This work emphasizes the value of high-throughput screening to rapidly identify functional lncRNAs in the innate immune system.

RNA, Long Noncoding↗

PubMed2026

Integrative Pan-Cancer Characterization of lncRNA UPK1A-AS1 and Its Role in Hypoxia-Associated Sorafenib Resistance in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as critical regulators of tumor initiation and progression through transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. UPK1A antisense RNA 1 (UPK1A-AS1), a cancer-associated lncRNA, has been reported to participate in oncogenic processes; however, its overall landscape across human malignancies and its biological role in therapy resistance remain poorly understood. Given the increasing importance of identifying functional lncRNAs with prognostic and therapeutic potential, this study presents a comprehensive multiomics characterization of UPK1A-AS1 and its experimental validation in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We integrated datasets from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Genotype-Tissue Expression Project (GTEx), the cancer immunology data engine (CIDE), and the cBioPortal for cancer genomics (cBioPortal) to systematically assess its expression pattern, genomic alterations, clinical significance, and immunological associations. Our analyses revealed that UPK1A-AS1 is significantly upregulated in multiple tumor types, with copy-number amplification as the predominant genomic alteration driving its overexpression. Elevated UPK1A-AS1 expression was correlated with advanced disease stage, poor differentiation, immune exclusion, and unfavorable prognosis, supporting its potential as a cancer type-dependent biomarker. In parallel, functional studies demonstrated that hypoxia transcriptionally induces UPK1A-AS1 in HCC, where it promotes sorafenib resistance by suppressing apoptosis. Silencing UPK1A-AS1 restored apoptotic and enhanced sorafenib efficacy both in vitro and in vivo. Collectively, our findings suggest that UPK1A-AS1 is a hypoxia-inducible oncogenic lncRNA that plays dual roles in cancer, with cancer type-dependent associations with progression and immune modulation across malignancies and mechanistically mediating hypoxia-associated drug resistance in HCC.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Overexpression of a subset of long intergenic noncoding RNAs in uterine serous carcinoma predicts poor prognosis.

The evaluation and prediction of uterine serous carcinoma (USC), a type of endometrial cancer that is more severe than endometrioid adenocarcinoma, remain challenging. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are frequently dysregulated in human cancers. This study assessed the expression patterns and prognostic values of long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) in USC. RNA sequencing, copy number variation (CNV), and clinical data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were used to investigate various lncRNAs in endometrial cancer. LincRNAs, a major subclass of lncRNAs, exhibit specific expression patterns modulated by CNVs and act as predictors of poor prognosis, survival, and recurrence in USC. Functional analyses were conducted to investigate the roles of lncRNAs in USC. Finally, the expression of these lincRNAs was verified in 32 pairs of USCs collected from the hospital over 3 years. A series of lincRNAs were found to be specifically expressed in USC compared with other lncRNAs and regulated by CNV. Moreover, these specific upregulated lincRNAs, particularly ENSG00000281406, ENSG00000226791, ENSG00000269903, and ENSG00000204277, demonstrated poor prognoses for survival and recurrence in USC. Functionally, our analysis showed that ENSG00000281406 positively correlated with the Wnt signaling pathway, whereas ENSG00000226791, ENSG00000269903, and ENSG00000204277 negatively correlated with the T-cell receptor signaling pathway. Importantly, we confirmed that ENSG00000204277 negatively correlated with CD8+ T-cell immune infiltration in USC. Our results highlight that these lincRNAs can serve as new biomarkers for the prognostic prediction of USC. In particular, ENSG00000204277 may be used as a therapeutic target for USC.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Comprehensive analysis of mRNA-microRNA-lncRNA expression profiles in post-traumatic elbow heterotopic ossification using RNA sequencing and experimental validation.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to profile the molecular signatures of post-traumatic elbow heterotopic ossification (HO) to identify key regulators and potential therapeutic targets. METHODS: Total RNA from post-traumatic elbow HO tissues (n=4) and normal bone tissues (n=6) was subjected to high-throughput sequencing to identify differentially expressed mRNAs (DEGs), microRNAs (DEMs), and lncRNAs (DELs). Bioinformatics analyses included Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment, protein-protein interaction network construction, and transcription factor (TF)-microRNA-mRNA network analysis. The expression trends of four most upregulated and four most downregulated DEGs were validated by real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). RESULTS: We identified 2,138 DEGs, 40 DEMs, and 905 DELs. DEGs were significantly enriched in biological process "bone mineralization," cellular component "plasma membrane," molecular function "integrin binding," and pathways including PI3K-Akt, NF-κB, JAK-STAT, and TNF signaling pathways. Hub genes with high connectivity included MMP9, IL6, MMP3, CTSK, and BGLAP. Integrated network analysis highlighted the transcription factor JUN and key microRNAs (hsa-miR-124-3p, hsa-miR-548c-3p, and hsa-miR-135b). The qRT-PCR results confirmed the expression trends of selected DEGs. CONCLUSIONS: This study, for the first time, profiled the differentially expressed mRNAs, microRNAs, and lncRNAs in post-traumatic elbow HO using high-throughput RNA sequencing. These findings provide valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms of HO following elbow trauma. The identified hub genes (MMP9, IL6, MMP3, CTSK, and BGLAP), key TF (JUN), and key microRNAs (hsa-miR-124-3p, hsa-miR-548c-3p, and hsa-miR-135b) may serve as potential therapeutic targets for preventing and treating post-traumatic elbow HO.

Humans↗

PubMed2024

Expression profile of long noncoding RNAs and comprehensive analysis of lncRNA-cisTF-DGE regulation in condyloma acuminatum.

OBJECTIVE: To identify differentially expressed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in condyloma acuminatum (CA) and to explore their probable regulatory mechanisms by establishing coexpression networks. METHODS: High-throughput RNA sequencing was performed to assess genome-wide lncRNA expression in CA and paired adjacent mucosal tissue. The expression of candidate lncRNAs and their target genes in larger CA specimens was validated using real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT‒qPCR). Furthermore, Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were used for the functional enrichment analysis of these candidate lncRNAs and differential mRNAs. The coexpressed mRNAs of the candidate lncRNAs, calculated by Pearson's correlation coefficient, were also analysed using GO and KEGG analysis. In addition, the interactions among differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs)-cis-regulatory transcription factors (cisTFs)-differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analysed and their network was constructed. RESULTS: A total of 546 lncRNAs and 2553 mRNAs were found to be differentially expressed in CA compared to the paired control. Functional enrichment analysis revealed that the DEGs coexpressed with DElncRNAs were enriched in the terms of cell adhesion and keratinocyte differentiation, and the pathways of ECM-receptor interaction, local adhesion, PI3K/AKT and TGF-ß signaling. We further constructed the network among DElncRNAs-cisTFs-DEGs and found that these 95 DEGs were mainly enriched in GO terms of epithelial development, regulation of transcription or gene expression. Furthermore, the expression of 3 pairs of DElncRNAs and cisTFs, EVX1-AS and HOXA13, HOXA11-AS and EVX1, and DLX6-AS and DLX5, was validated with a larger number of specimens using RT‒qPCR. CONCLUSION: CA has a specific lncRNA profile, and the differentially expressed lncRNAs play regulatory roles in mRNA expression through cis-acting TFs, which provides insight into their regulatory networks. It will be useful to understand the pathogenesis of CA to provide new directions for the prevention, clinical treatment and efficacy evaluation of CA.

RNA, Long Noncoding↗

PubMed2026

LncRNA HOTAIR contributes to cigarette smoke-induced pro-inflammatory responses in human airway epithelial cells.

Inhalation of cigarette smoke (CS) is the primary risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), inducing epigenetic changes in the airway epithelium, including dysregulation of long-noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). LncRNA homeobox gene transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) regulates chromatin remodeling and has been implicated in CS-induced malignant transformation. We hypothesized that HOTAIR expression is altered in COPD, leading to airway epithelial abnormalities. HOTAIR expression and overall survival were studied in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. Airway epithelial cells (AECs) were isolated from transplanted lungs of 11 patients with COPD, tracheobronchial tissue of 9 non-COPD donors, and bronchial brushings of ex-smokers with/without COPD (n = 6/group). HOTAIR expression, histone modifications, and production of proinflammatory cytokines (CXCL8 and GM-CSF) were assessed in the absence/presence of CS extract (CSE) and HOTAIR-polycomb inhibitor AQB. High HOTAIR expression correlated with poor overall survival in cancer patients with COPD, but not those without. Although HOTAIR expression was not significantly different between AECs from controls and subjects with COPD at baseline, it was significantly increased by 20% CSE only in COPD-derived AECs. CSE significantly decreased H3K4me3 levels in COPD-derived AECs, but not those from controls. AQB reduced baseline H3K27me3 levels in both groups, with a stronger effect in control-derived AECs. In addition, it reduced H3K4me3 levels in the presence of CSE in both groups. Finally, although AQB significantly suppressed CSE-induced production of GM-CSF and CXCL8 in control AECs, it failed to do so in COPD. Together, these findings suggest that COPD-derived AECs are more susceptible to CSE-induced HOTAIR upregulation, which may have a proinflammatory effect that cannot be inhibited by AQB.NEW & NOTEWORTHY COPD-derived AECs exhibit higher susceptibility to CSE-induced HOTAIR upregulation. CSE induces distinct histone modification patterns (H3K4me3) specifically in COPD-derived AECs. HOTAIR is essential for mediating CSE-induced proinflammatory responses in AECs.

Humans↗

PubMed2024

Whole transcriptome sequencing analyses of islets reveal ncRNA regulatory networks underlying impaired insulin secretion and increased β-cell mass in high fat diet-induced diabetes mellitus.

AIM: Our study aims to identify novel non-coding RNA-mRNA regulatory networks associated with β-cell dysfunction and compensatory responses in obesity-related diabetes. METHODS: Glucose metabolism, islet architecture and secretion, and insulin sensitivity were characterized in C57BL/6J mice fed on a 60% high-fat diet (HFD) or control for 24 weeks. Islets were isolated for whole transcriptome sequencing to identify differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs, miRNAs, IncRNAs, and circRNAs. Regulatory networks involving miRNA-mRNA, lncRNA-mRNA, and lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA were constructed and functions were assessed through Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analyses. RESULTS: Despite compensatory hyperinsulinemia and a significant increase in β-cell mass with a slow rate of proliferation, HFD mice exhibited impaired glucose tolerance. In isolated islets, insulin secretion in response to glucose and palmitic acid deteriorated after 24 weeks of HFD. Whole transcriptomic sequencing identified a total of 1324 DE mRNAs, 14 DE miRNAs, 179 DE lncRNAs, and 680 DE circRNAs. Our transcriptomic dataset unveiled several core regulatory axes involved in the impaired insulin secretion in HFD mice, such as miR-6948-5p/Cacna1c, miR-6964-3p/Cacna1b, miR-3572-5p/Hk2, miR-3572-5p/Cckar and miR-677-5p/Camk2d. Additionally, proliferative and apoptotic targets, including miR-216a-3p/FKBP5, miR-670-3p/Foxo3, miR-677-5p/RIPK1, miR-802-3p/Smad2 and ENSMUST00000176781/Caspase9 possibly contribute to the increased β-cell mass in HFD islets. Furthermore, competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) regulatory network involving 7 DE miRNAs, 15 DE lncRNAs and 38 DE mRNAs might also participate in the development of HFD-induced diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: The comprehensive whole transcriptomic sequencing revealed novel non-coding RNA-mRNA regulatory networks associated with impaired insulin secretion and increased β-cell mass in obesity-related diabetes.

Mice↗

PubMed2026

An inflammatory bowel disease-linked lncRNA suppresses transcription factor T-BET expression in T cells to limit intestinal inflammation.

Among the tens of thousands of annotated long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the human genome, only a small fraction have been functionally characterized. Here, we show that a well-established inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) risk locus encoded a conserved lncRNA, lnc15 (2310015A10Rik/ENSMUSG00000097729), whose structure was destabilized by risk-associated variants, leading to its degradation. Deletion of lnc15 in mice resulted in molecular features of inflammation under steady-state conditions and conferred heightened susceptibility to experimental colitis. Lnc15 was abundantly expressed in T cells, with highest expression in regulatory T (Treg) cells. Mechanistically, lnc15 suppressed the transcription factor T-BET by recruiting the CCR4-NOT RNA degradation complex to Tbx21 mRNA. Our study identifies that lnc15 simultaneously enhances Treg cell suppressive function and impairs conventional T cell pathogenicity in the context of intestinal inflammation. Collectively, these findings identify lnc15 as a functional lncRNA that links noncoding genetic variation to immune regulation and prevention of mucosal inflammation. VIDEO ABSTRACT.

RNA, Long Noncoding↗

PubMed2024

Transcriptome-wide N6-methyladenosine modification profiling of long non-coding RNAs in patients with recurrent implantation failure.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is involved in most biological processes and actively participates in the regulation of reproduction. According to recent research, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and their m6A modifications are involved in reproductive diseases. In the present study, using m6A-modified RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (m6A-seq), we established the m6A methylation transcription profiles in patients with recurrent implantation failure (RIF) for the first time. There were 1443 significantly upregulated m6A peaks and 425 significantly downregulated m6A peaks in RIF. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses revealed that genes associated with differentially methylated lncRNAs are involved in the p53 signalling pathway and amino acid metabolism. The competing endogenous RNA network revealed a regulatory relationship between lncRNAs, microRNAs and messenger RNAs. We verified the m6A methylation abundances of lncRNAs by using m6A-RNA immunoprecipitation (MeRIP)-real-time polymerase chain reaction. This study lays a foundation for further exploration of the potential role of m6A modification in the pathogenesis of RIF.

Humans↗

PubMed2025

Genome imbalance modulates the expression of long non-coding RNAs in maize.

Genome imbalance, resulting from varying the dosage of individual chromosomes (aneuploidy), has a more detrimental effect than changes in complete sets of chromosomes (haploidy/polyploidy). This imbalance is likely due to disruptions in stoichiometry and interactions among macromolecular assemblies. Previous research has shown that aneuploidy causes global modulation of protein-coding genes (PCGs), microRNAs, and transposable elements (TEs), affecting both the varied chromosome (cis-located) and unvaried genome regions (trans-located) across various taxa. While long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important gene expression regulators, their roles in the context of genomic imbalance remain largely unexplored. In this study, we analyzed and compared the impact of aneuploidy and haploidy/polyploidy on lncRNA expression using RNA-seq data from maize mature leaf tissue. Our results indicate that cis-located lncRNAs are modulated from dosage compensation to a gene dosage effect, while trans-located lncRNAs exhibit trends ranging from an inverse effect to a positive correlation with chromosomal dosage. Remarkably, the ploidy series showed a lesser degree of lncRNA modulation. LncRNAs and TEs display a similar trend of inverse modulation but exhibit greater sensitivity to dosage changes compared to PCGs. The construction of cis-acting and trans-acting lncRNA co-expression networks indicates that lncRNAs likely function as dosage-sensitive regulators of gene expression under conditions of genomic imbalance. Overall, this study not only elucidates the dosage effect of plant lncRNAs but also serves as a valuable resource for exploring potential regulators of PCGs that play significant biological functions.

Zea mays↗

PubMed2026

Context-dependent effects of MIR100HG on tumorigenic phenotypes and p38/MAPK-AKT signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide and is characterized by a hypoxic tumor microenvironment that promotes tumor progression, cellular adaptation, and therapeutic resistance. Increasing evidence indicates that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play critical roles in regulating tumor-associated signaling networks; however, the contribution of MIR100HG to hepatocellular carcinoma progression, particularly under hypoxic conditions, remains insufficiently understood. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern and functional significance of MIR100HG in hepatocellular carcinoma using epithelial-like Hep3B and mesenchymal-like SNU-398 cells, together with non-tumor hepatocytes (Clone-9). Gain- and loss-of-function approaches were employed to evaluate the impact of MIR100HG on tumor-associated cellular phenotypes under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Functional assays demonstrated that MIR100HG overexpression significantly enhanced cell proliferation, clonogenic potential, migration, and invasion, whereas MIR100HG silencing markedly suppressed these tumorigenic properties and increased apoptotic cell death. Mechanistic analyses revealed that MIR100HG promotes oncogenic signaling through the p38/MAPK and AKT pathways under normoxic conditions, whereas MIR100HG depletion reduced the phosphorylation of these key signaling proteins. Notably, additional pathway analyses under hypoxia-mimicking conditions revealed a distinct signaling response, in which the MIR100HG-associated activation of p38/MAPK and AKT observed under normoxia was not maintained. Moreover, the expression patterns of AKT-associated regulatory genes, including GAS6 and PTEN, were reversed under hypoxia-mimicking conditions. These findings suggest that the effects of MIR100HG on oncogenic signaling are highly dependent on the cellular oxygenation context and that hypoxia reshapes the downstream signaling consequences of MIR100HG expression in HCC cells. Collectively, our findings identify MIR100HG as a hypoxia-associated oncogenic regulator that enhances tumorigenic phenotypes and promotes survival signaling in hepatocellular carcinoma. These results highlight MIR100HG as a potential biomarker and therapeutic target in liver cancer and provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying hypoxia-driven tumor progression.

Humans↗

PubMed2024

RNA-seq reveals differentially expressed lncRNAs and circRNAs and their associated functional network in HTR-8/Svneo cells under hypoxic conditions.

Placental hypoxia is hazardous to maternal health as well as fetal growth and development. Preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction are common pregnancy problems, and one of the causes is placental hypoxia. Placental hypoxia is linked to a number of pregnancy illnessesv. To investigate their potential function in anoxic circumstances, we mimicked the anoxic environment of HTR-8/Svneo cells and performed lncRNA and circRNA studies on anoxic HTR-8/Svneo cells using high-throughput RNA sequencing. The miRNA target genes were predicted by integrating the aberrant expression of miRNAs in the placenta of preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction, and a ceRNA network map was developed to conduct a complete transcriptomic and bioinformatics investigation of circRNAs and lncRNAs. The signaling pathways in which the genes were primarily engaged were predicted using GO and KEGG analyses. To propose a novel explanation for trophoblastic organism failure caused by lncRNAs and circRNAs in an anoxic environment.

Humans↗

PubMed2026

Whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing and ceRNA network analyses provide novel insights into the antibacterial immune response of Hippocampus abdominalis against Vibrio harveyi.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) stand as newly-arisen molecular types that exert regulatory effects, able to operate as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) to engage microRNAs (miRNAs) in interaction, resulting in the recovery of target mRNA expression and activity. Increasing evidences indicate that the ceRNA network affects various biological processes in mammals, including development, cellular differentiation, metabolism, immune response, and disease pathogenesis. In teleost fish, the lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks have been reported occasionally. However, up to now, the roles of lncRNAs in the big-belly seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) remains unclear. In this study, we reported for the first time, via whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing, the lncRNA mediated ceRNA regulatory network in Vibrio harveyi-infected H. abdominalis. A total of 4197 differentially expressed mRNAs (DE-mRNAs), 1317 DE-lncRNAs, and 183 DE-miRNAs were identified. Furthermore, the crosstalk between miRNAs and lncRNAs as well as between miRNAs and mRNAs was inferred based on the negative correlations between miRNAs and their target lncRNAs/mRNAs. A core immune associated lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA putative regulatory network was thus constructed, comprising 211 lncRNA-miRNA and 224 mRNA-miRNA pairs. In conclusion, our findings provide an integrative overview of the ceRNA regulatory networks on the underlying immune responses to V. harveyi infection in the big-belly seahorse, and offer a solid theoretical foundation for the comparative immunological research of teleost fish.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

HyLnc: a hybrid deep learning and feature-based approach for long non-coding RNA prediction.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) play important roles in gene regulation, development and disease, yet accurate identification of lncRNAs from transcriptomic data remains a major computational challenge. Existing methods often rely either on handcrafted sequence features or deep learning approaches, each with their inherent limitations in capturing the full complexity of RNA sequences. In this study, we proposed HyLnc, a computational framework that integrates transformer-based contextual embeddings with biologically meaningful sequence features for improved lncRNA prediction. A custom BERT-based model was first pre-trained on a large corpus of metazoan RNA sequences using a masked language modelling strategy to learn contextual nucleotide dependencies. The model was subsequently fine-tuned on curated datasets of lncRNAs and protein-coding transcripts and 256-dimensional deep sequence embeddings were extracted. Parallelly, 348 handcrafted features, including ORF characteristics, untranslated region (UTR) properties, nucleotide composition and Fickett scores, were computed. A multi-stage feature selection strategy was applied to identify the most informative features, resulting in optimized hybrid feature sets. Multiple machine learning classifiers were evaluated, with the RF model achieving the best performance. The proposed framework attained an accuracy of 91.30%, F1-score of 91.23% and MCC of 82.60 on an independent validation dataset, outperforming several existing lncRNA prediction tools. Thus, HyLnc demonstrates that integrating deep contextual representations with biologically interpretable features enhances lncRNA prediction. This approach provides a robust and scalable solution for large-scale transcriptome annotation and can be extended to other sequence-based prediction.

RNA, Long Noncoding↗

PubMed2025

Constructing epigenetic regulatory landscapes of plant lncRNAs-an exploration utilizing the novel specialized platform PERlncDB.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), once overlooked as transcriptional byproducts, are now recognized for their crucial roles in plant growth, development, and stress responses, with increasing focus on their epigenetic regulation. However, studies investigating epigenomic signals to explore the functions of lncRNAs in plants remain relatively limited. This study collected a comprehensive dataset of over 160 000 high-quality lncRNAs from 19 representative plant species and integrated 6715 ChIP-seq, BS-seq, and RNA-seq datasets to analyze epigenomic patterns at lncRNA loci. Results showed elevated DNA methylation in lncRNA regions. The highest levels occurred in transposable element-associated lncRNAs. Additionally, activating histone modifications at lncRNA loci showed tissue specificity, with epigenetic preferences differed from those at protein-coding gene (PCG) loci. Differential site analysis in epigenetic mutants further highlighted the selective regulation of lncRNA loci by specific epigenetic factors. To facilitate research, we developed PERlncDB, a platform that provides species-specific lncRNA browsing, epigenetic annotation, cross-species conservation analysis, and visualization of epigenomic landscapes. Case studies on MARS and LINC-AP2 emphasized the platform's utility. Conserved epigenetic mechanisms regulating lncRNAs across species, exemplified by a syntenic conserved MET1-regulated lncRNA pair in Arabidopsis and tomato, suggested the stability of regulatory mechanisms underlying lncRNA functions. This work provides critical insights and resources for understanding plant lncRNA epigenetic regulation.

RNA, Long Noncoding↗

PubMed2024

Transcriptome analysis of the diseased intervertebral disc tissue in patients with spinal tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differential expression genes (DEGs) in spinal tuberculosis using transcriptomics, with the aim of identifying novel therapeutic targets and prognostic indicators for the clinical management of spinal tuberculosis. METHODS: Patients who visited the Department of Orthopedics at the Second Hospital, Lanzhou University from January 2021 to May 2023 were enrolled. Based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, there were 5 patients in the test group and 5 patients in the control group. Total RNA was extracted and paired-end sequencing was conducted on the sequencing platform. After processing the sequencing data with clean reads and annotating the reference genome, FPKM normalization and differential expression analysis were performed. The DEGs and long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) were analyzed for Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment. The cis-regulation of differentially expressed mRNAs (DE mRNAs) by LncRNAs was predicted and analyzed to establish a co-expression network. RESULTS: This study identified 2366 DEGs, with 974 genes significantly upregulated and 1392 genes significantly downregulated. The upregulated genes are associated with cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, tuberculosis, and TNF-α signaling pathways, primarily enriched in biological processes such as immunity and inflammation. The downregulated genes are related to muscle development, contraction, fungal defense response, and collagen metabolism processes. Analysis of LncRNAs from bone tuberculosis RNA-seq data detected a total of 3652 LncRNAs, with 356 significantly upregulated and 184 significantly downregulated. Further analysis identified 311 significantly different LncRNAs that could cis-regulate 777 target genes, enriched in pathways such as muscle contraction, inflammatory response, and immune response, closely related to bone tuberculosis. There are 51 genes enriched in the immune response pathway regulated by cis-acting LncRNAs. LncRNAs that regulate immune response-related genes, such as upregulated RP11-451G4.2, RP11-701P16.5, AC079767.4, AC017002.1, LINC01094, CTA-384D8.35, and AC092484.1, as well as downregulated RP11-2C24.7, may serve as potential prognostic and therapeutic targets. CONCLUSION: The DE mRNAs and LncRNAs in spinal tuberculosis are both associated with immune regulatory pathways. These pathways promote or inhibit the tuberculosis infection and development at the mechanistic level and play an important role in the process of tuberculosis transferring to bone tissue.

Humans↗