pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) Whole transcriptome RNA-seq

Background Delayed diagnosis in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) often leads to serious public health problems.Methods High throughput sequencing was used to determine the expression levels of lncRNAs, mRNAs, and miRNAs in the lesions and adjacent health lung tissues of PTB patients. Their differential expression profiles between the two groups were compared, and enrichment analysis was performed on mRNAs. The lncRNAs, mRNAs with target relationship with miRNAs were predicted respectively, and correlation analysis was performed. The ceRNA regulatory network was obtained by comparing with the differentially expressed transcripts (DElncRs, DEmRs, DEmiRs).Results 146 DElncRs, 447 DEmRs, and 29 DEmiRs were obtained between lesions and adjacent health tissues in PTB patients. Notably, these DEmRs were mainly involved in Th1, Th2, and Th17 cell differentiation. We then established 2 lncRNAs mediated ceRNA networks. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the proportion of Th1 cells and Th17 cells was lower in PTB than in controls, while the proportion of Th2 cells increased. qRT-PCR validated the differential expression of network genes between PTB and controls.Conclusion Our results provide rich transcriptome data for a deeper investigation of PTB. The ceRNA regulatory network we obtained may be instructive for the diagnosis and treatment of PTB.