Differentially expressed long non-coding RNAs and mRNAs in DRG of bone cancer pain and sham group rats based on microarray and bioinformatic analysis

Objective: The diagnostic roles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and mRNAs in bone cancer pain are still not well defined. We aimed to identify differentially expressed DRG mRNAs in bone cancer pain and sham group rats systematically. Methods: Expression profile of mRNAs in DRG from bone cancer pain and sham group rats was analyzed by microarray assay. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway based approaches were used to investigate biological functions and signaling pathways affected by the differentially expressed mRNAs. GPR160 was selected for validation using Real-Time PCR. Results: Compared with sham group, a total of 807 differentially expressed mRNAs were revealed by heatmap and volcano-plot, including up-regulation in 720 and down-regulation in 87 (fold change ≥ 2 and P < 0.05), respectively. Pathways analysis based on upregulated mRNAs were mainly involved in antigen processing and presentation and phagosome pathway (P < 0.05). We first reported differentially expressed mRNAs in bone cancer pain and sham group rats systemically. Combined with the published dataset, we identified several differentially expressed mRNAs which might to be diagnostic or prognostic markers. The biological functions of those mRNAs should be further validated. Taken together, this study provided the basis for future treatment of bone cancer pain.研究目的：长链非编码RNA（long non-coding RNAs，lncRNAs）与信使RNA（messenger RNA，mRNA）在骨癌痛中的诊断作用尚未完全阐明。本研究旨在系统鉴定骨癌痛模型大鼠与假手术组大鼠背根神经节（Dorsal Root Ganglion，DRG）中的差异表达mRNA。研究方法：采用基因芯片技术分析骨癌痛模型大鼠与假手术组大鼠背根神经节的mRNA表达谱。通过基因本体（Gene Ontology，GO）与京都基因与基因组百科全书（Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes，KEGG）通路分析方法，探究差异表达mRNA所影响的生物学功能与信号通路。选取GPR160基因，采用实时荧光定量聚合酶链式反应（Real-Time PCR）进行验证。研究结果：与假手术组相比，通过热图与火山图共筛选得到807个差异表达mRNA，其中720个上调、87个下调（倍数变化≥2且P<0.05）。上调差异mRNA的富集通路主要涉及抗原加工呈递与吞噬体通路（P<0.05）。本研究首次系统报道了骨癌痛模型大鼠与假手术组大鼠背根神经节的差异表达mRNA谱。结合已公开数据集，本研究鉴定出若干可能作为诊断或预后标志物的差异表达mRNA，其生物学功能尚需进一步验证。综上，本研究为骨癌痛的后续治疗研究提供了理论基础。