Comparison of long non-coding RNA expression profiles in human periodontal tissue cells

Human dental follicle cells (hDFCs) are precursor cells of periodontal development. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been revealed to be crucial factors that regulate a variety of biological processes; however, whether lncRNAs serve a role in human periodontal development remains unknown. Therefore, the present study used microarrays to detect the differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs between hDFCs and human periodontal ligament cells (hPDLCs). Human dental follicle and periodontal ligament samples were obtained from four adolescents (2 males and 2 females) between 12 and 16 years old following premolar and immature impacted third molar (roots developed to <2/3 their full size) extraction for orthodontic reasons. To verify the reliability of the microarray data, six differentially expressed lncRNAs and six differentially expressed mRNAs were randomly selected for analysis of their expression levels by RT-qPCR. After primary culture, cells were passaged with a 1:3 ratio using 0.25% trypsin/EDTA (Gibco; Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc.). The third-generation cells were used for subsequent experiments.