Analyses of long non-coding RNAs in human retinal endothelial cells following glucose treatment

The differential expression of lncRNAs in human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) was investigated with a commericially available microarray (ArrayStar Human LncRNA Microarray V3.0; ArrayStar Inc., Rockville, Maryland USA). Approximately 28,035 lncRNAs and 21,407 coding transcripts were detected using this microarray. In addition to the array findings, lncRNAs were further constructured using transcriptome databases (including RefSeq, Gencode, UCSC). Sequences were selected using proprietary strategies and each transcript is represented by a specific exon or splice junction probe, which can accurately identify an individual transcript. Nevertheless, both postive and negative probes for housekeeping genes were additionally used as controls. In the present study, two control groups (normal glucose conditions, 5 mM/L; and high glucose, 25 mM/L) and two treatment groups (high glucose conditions, 25 mM/L) were established using HRECs.