Microarray expression profile analysis of long non-coding RNAs in human aldosterone-producing adenoma

To further explore the clinical significance of lncRNAs in aldosterone producing adenoma (APA), we have employed large-scale biological database based transcriptome sequencing and microarray techniques as a discovery platform to identify expression changes of lncRNAs between APA (sample3, 4, 5) and normal adrenal (NA, sample A, B, L) tissue. By microarray analysis, we selected differentially expressed LncRNAs and mRNAs, and we further constructed coding-non-coding gene co-expression networks (CNC network) based on the correlation analysis between lncRNAs and target mRNAs. These networks will subsequently help to predict lncRNAs target genes, and will provide important insights into the role of lncRNAs in APA pathogenesis. Microarray analysis was done in total of 6 RNA samples, consisting of 3 each from aldosterone producing adenoma (sample A,B,L) and normal adrenal tissues (sample 3,4,5) . Finally, 38,361 lncRNAs and 34,215 coding transcripts collected from databases.