The transcriptome analysis of regulatory networks in RA-FLSs

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common chronic inflammatory joint disease characterized by persistent synovial hyperplasia and progressive destruction of joint cartilage and bone.Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs), a prominent component of hyperplastic synovial pannus tissue, are the primary effector cells in RA synovial hyperplasia and invasion. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we apply transcriptome to assay the regulatory networks which contribute to the proliferation, migration and invasion of RA-FLSs . We investigated the differential expression profiles of mRNA and lncRNA in FLSs between two groups: the RA group (fibroblast-like synoviocytes of rheumatoid arthritis patients ), the healthy control groups (fibroblast-like synoviocytes of patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery for knee meniscus injuries or cruciate ligament rupture and had no medical history of acute or chronic joint abnormalities or systemic disease). The data of each group are collected from independent experiments in triplicate. Transcriptomic analysis was carried out using a microarray (Arraystar Human lncRNA Gene Expression Microarrays V4.0; Agilent Technology, Santa Clara, USA), which includes about 40,173 LncRNAs and 20,730 coding transcripts.