Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, 637000, China.
Department of Clinical Medicine, Mianyang Institute Of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Mianyang, 621000, China.
Curr Rheumatol Rev. 2024;20(5):544-554. doi: 10.2174/0115733971283982240118045203.
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is an autoimmune disease that has the characteristics of difficult early diagnosis and a high disability rate.
The objective of this study was to further explore the possible mechanism and potential function of lncRNA in AS.
We used lncRNA microarray technology to detect the expression of lncRNA and mRNA in patients with active AS, stable patients, and healthy controls (HC). Afterward, bioinformatics analysis was conducted on differentially expressed genes. Seven differentially expressed lncRNAs were screened out for real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), combined with various clinical indicators for correlation analysis, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the potential of lncRNA as a diagnostic marker for AS.
The results showed that the expression levels of NR-037662 and ENST00000599316 in the AS subgroups were significantly higher than those in the HC group, while the expression levels of ENST00000577914 and ENST00000579003 were lower than those in the HC group. The expression levels of NR-003542 and ENST00000512051 in the ASA group were significantly higher than those in the ASS and HC groups, while NR-026756 was just the opposite. Spearman's correlation analysis showed that the expression level of NR-003542 was positively correlated with Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR), and high sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (hsCRP). The expression level of NR-026756 was negatively correlated with the Bath Ankylosing Spine Inflammatory Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), BASFI, ESR, hsCRP, and globulin (GLOB). In addition, it was also found that the ROC curve analysis of the 4 lncRNAs between the AS group (ASA group and ASS group) and the HC group were statistically significant, and the area under the curve (AUC) of NR-037662, ENST00000599316, ENST00000577914, and ENST00000579003 was 0.804, 0.812, 0.706, and 0.698, respectively.
It was found that these differentially expressed lncRNAs of AS may be involved in the occurrence and development of the disease. Among them, NR-037662, ENST00000599316, ENST00000577914, and ENST00000579003 might have the potential to become AS diagnostic molecular markers. Moreover, NR -003542, ENST00000512051, and NR-026756 might have the potential to be indicators of disease activity.
强直性脊柱炎（AS）是一种自身免疫性疾病，具有早期诊断困难和高致残率的特点。
本研究旨在进一步探讨长链非编码 RNA（lncRNA）在 AS 中的可能机制和潜在功能。
我们使用 lncRNA 微阵列技术检测活动期 AS 患者、稳定期患者和健康对照者（HC）的 lncRNA 和 mRNA 的表达。然后，对差异表达基因进行生物信息学分析。筛选出 7 个差异表达的 lncRNA 进行实时荧光定量 PCR（RT-qPCR），并结合各种临床指标进行相关性分析，同时采用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析 lncRNA 作为 AS 诊断标志物的潜在价值。
结果显示，AS 亚组中 NR-037662 和 ENST00000599316 的表达水平明显高于 HC 组，而 ENST00000577914 和 ENST00000579003 的表达水平则低于 HC 组。ASA 组中 NR-003542 和 ENST00000512051 的表达水平明显高于 ASS 组和 HC 组，而 NR-026756 则相反。Spearman 相关性分析表明，NR-003542 的表达水平与 Bath 强直性脊柱炎功能指数（BASFI）、红细胞沉降率（ESR）和高敏 C 反应蛋白（hsCRP）呈正相关。NR-026756 的表达水平与 Bath 强直性脊柱炎疾病活动指数（BASDAI）、BASFI、ESR、hsCRP 和球蛋白（GLOB）呈负相关。此外，还发现 4 个 lncRNA 在 AS 组（ASA 组和 ASS 组）与 HC 组之间的 ROC 曲线分析具有统计学意义，NR-037662、ENST00000599316、ENST00000577914 和 ENST00000579003 的曲线下面积（AUC）分别为 0.804、0.812、0.706 和 0.698。
研究发现，AS 差异表达的这些 lncRNA 可能参与了疾病的发生发展。其中，NR-037662、ENST00000599316、ENST00000577914 和 ENST00000579003 可能具有成为 AS 诊断分子标志物的潜力。此外，NR-003542、ENST00000512051 和 NR-026756 可能具有疾病活动的潜在指标。
