Purpose. To investigate the expression profiles of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods. The peripheral blood monocytes of a total of 20 patients with AF and 20 healthy subjects were collected for gene chip technology to detect differentially expressed lncRNAs from 2017.01 to 2017.08. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was applied for further verification. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed to identify the functions of differentially expressed genes and related pathways. Results. There were 19 lncRNAs differentially expressed (, ), of which 6 were upregulated and 13 were downregulated. Two of three upregulated lncRNAs ( and 0.006 for HNRNPU-AS1 and LINC00861, respectively) and two of three downregulated lncRNAs ( and 0.032 for RP11-443B7.3 and CTD-2616J11.14, respectively) were randomly confirmed by RT-PCR and showed a significantly different expression with the RNA-seq results. GO analysis showed that differentially expressed genes enriched in differentially expressed transcripts in biological process were mainly involved in metabolic process, catabolic process, and biosynthetic process. Differentially expressed transcripts in cellular component were mainly involved in nuclear lumen, organelle lumen, and cytoplasm. Differentially expressed transcripts in molecular function were mainly involved in protein binding, RNA binding, and molecular function. KEGG enrichment pathway analysis showed that some of the enrichment pathways associated with differentially expressed lncRNAs include calcium signaling pathway, NF-kappa B signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathway. HNRNPU-AS1 was the highest positive correlated lncRNA in the networks. Conclusions. The expression of lncRNA in peripheral blood of AF patients is different from that of normal people. The physiological functions of these differentially expressed lncRNAs may be related to the pathogenesis of AF, which provide experimental basis and new therapeutic target for prognosis and treatment of patients with AF. HNRNPU-AS1 may play an important role in the pathophysiology and mechanisms of AF.

中文翻译：

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心房颤动患者循环 lncRNA 表达谱的鉴定

目的。研究心房颤动 (AF) 患者中长链非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 的表达谱。方法。2017.01-2017.08共采集20例AF患者和20例健康受试者外周血单核细胞进行基因芯片技术检测差异表达的lncRNA。应用逆转录聚合酶链反应（RT-PCR）进行进一步验证。进行基因本体论（GO）和京都基因和基因组百科全书（KEGG）分析以确定差异表达基因的功能和相关途径。结果。有 19 个 lncRNA 差异表达（, )，其中 6 个被上调，13 个被下调。三个上调的 lncRNA 中的两个（HNRNPU-AS1 和 LINC00861 分别为 0.006）和三个下调 lncRNA 中的两个（RP11-443B7.3 和 CTD-2616J11.14 分别为 0.032 和 0.032）通过 RT-PCR 随机确认，并显示出与 RNA-seq 结果显着不同的表达。GO分析表明，生物过程中差异表达转录本中富集的差异表达基因主要参与代谢过程、分解代谢过程和生物合成过程。细胞成分中差异表达的转录本主要涉及核腔、细胞器腔和细胞质。分子功能差异表达的转录本主要涉及蛋白质结合、RNA结合和分子功能。KEGG富集通路分析表明，与差异表达lncRNA相关的一些富集通路包括钙信号通路、NF-kappa B信号通路、细胞因子-细胞因子受体相互作用和 Toll 样受体信号通路。HNRNPU-AS1 是网络中最高的正相关 lncRNA。结论。AF患者外周血中lncRNA的表达与正常人不同。这些差异表达的lncRNA的生理功能可能与房颤的发病机制有关，为房颤患者的预后和治疗提供实验依据和新的治疗靶点。HNRNPU-AS1 可能在 AF 的病理生理和机制中起重要作用。