BACKGROUND The aim of the current study was to investigate the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) expression profiles in psoriatic arthritis (PSA) patients by RNA sequencing, and to further explore potential biomarkers that were able to predict PSA risk and activity. METHODS LncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 4 PSA patients and 4 normal controls (NCs) were detected by RNA sequencing, followed by comprehensive bioinformatic analyses. Subsequently, 3 top upregulated and 2 top downregulated lncRNAs were chosen for further validation in 93 PSA patients and 93 NCs by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assay. RESULTS Totally 76 upregulated and 54 downregulated lncRNAs, as well as 231 upregulated and 102 downregulated mRNAs were discovered in PSA patients compared with NCs. Enrichment analyses revealed that they were mostly associated with nucleosome, extracellular exosome and extracellular matrix, and the top enriched pathways were systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), alcoholism and viral carcinogenesis. qPCR assay showed that lnc-RP11-701H24.7 and lnc-RNU12 were upregulated in PSA patients compared with NCs, and they could predict PSA risk with high area under curves. Besides, lnc-RP11-701H24.7 was positively associated with ESR, SJC, TJC and pain VAS score while lnc-RNU12 was positively correlated with PASI score, CRP and PGA score, implying that both of them were positively correlated with disease activity. CONCLUSION Our study facilitates comprehensive understanding of lncRNA expression profiles in PSA pathogenesis, and discovers that lnc-RP11-701H24.7 and lnc-RNU12 might be served as novel biomarkers for PSA risk and activity.

中文翻译：

---

通过 RNA 测序对长非编码 RNA 表达谱进行综合分析，并探索其作为银屑病关节炎患者生物标志物的效力。


背景当前研究的目的是通过 RNA 测序研究银屑病关节炎 (PSA) 患者的长非编码 RNA (lncRNA) 表达谱，并进一步探索能够预测 PSA 风险和活动的潜在生物标志物。方法通过RNA测序检测4例PSA患者和4例正常对照（NC）外周血单个核细胞（PBMC）中的LncRNA和mRNA表达谱，并进行综合生物信息学分析。随后，选择 3 个最上调的 lncRNA 和 2 个最下调的 lncRNA，通过定量聚合酶链反应 (qPCR) 测定在 93 名 PSA 患者和 93 名 NC 中进行进一步验证。结果 与 NC 患者相比，PSA 患者中总共发现了 76 个上调和 54 个下调的 lncRNA，以及 231 个上调和 102 个下调的 mRNA。富集分析显示，它们主要与核小体、细胞外外泌体和细胞外基质相关，富集最多的途径是系统性红斑狼疮（SLE）、酗酒和病毒致癌。 qPCR检测显示，与NC患者相比，PSA患者中lnc-RP11-701H24.7和lnc-RNU12表达上调，并且它们可以通过高曲线下面积预测PSA风险。此外，lnc-RP11-701H24.7与ESR、SJC、TJC和疼痛VAS评分呈正相关，而lnc-RNU12与PASI评分、CRP和PGA评分呈正相关，表明两者均与疾病活动度呈正相关。结论我们的研究有助于全面了解 PSA 发病机制中的 lncRNA 表达谱，并发现 lnc-RP11-701H24.7 和 lnc-RNU12 可能作为 PSA 风险和活性的新型生物标志物。