Analysis of expression of regulatory T cell related lncRNAs in inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathies

Tissue levels of regulatory T cell related lncRNAs in lung cancer: evidence for dysregulation of immune responses

BACKGROUND

Lung cancer is the second most prevalent malignancy among males and females and the leading cause of cancer deaths. Due to its high mortality, identification of novel therapeutic options is of critical value. Regulatory T cells and their associated transcripts are among possible targets for design of targeted therapies.

METHODS

Here, we assessed expression of lncRNAs that are possibly involved in Treg lineage commitment and their plasticity in lung tumor tissues (TT) and normal tissues adjacent to the tumor (NTAT).

RESULTS

We found up-regulation of TH2-LCR, IFNG-AS1, and MAFTRR in TT samples compared with NTATs. The highest difference in the expression between two sets of samples belonged to MAFTRR with expression ratio (95% CI) of 6.48 (2.67-15.7). TH2-LCR ranked second in this list with expression ratio (95% CI) of 5.23 (1.92-14.24). Finally, IFNG-AS1 was up-regulated in TT samples compared with NTATs with expression ratio (95% CI) of 3.3 (1.56-6.95). Then, the suitability of MAFTRR, TH2-LCR and IFNG-AS1 in the separation of TT samples from NTATs was assessed through plotting sensitivity values against 1-specifiicity values in ROC curves. The obtained AUC values were 0.74, 0.71 and 0.7, respectively.

CONCLUSION

In brief, we demonstrated dysregulation of three Treg-related lncRNAs in lung cancer tissues and suggested them as possible candidates for biomarker discovery investigations.

Expression analysis of Treg-related lncRNAs in neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder

Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD) is an autoimmune condition affecting the central nervous system, in which various kinds of immune cells, including T and B cells, and numerous cytokines and chemokines are implicated. LncRNAs modulating the function or differentiation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) may be involved in the pathoetiology of NMO. To assess the involvement of these lncRNAs in this disease, we studied the expression levels of TH2-LCR, MAFTRR, NEST, RMRP, and FLICR in NMO patients and healthy subjects. All of the lncRNAs listed were up-regulated in NMO patients compared with healthy controls. Although the interaction of group and gender factors significantly affected the expression of NEST, RMRP, and TH2-LCR genes, we detected no effect of gender factor on the expression of the examined genes. The highest expression correlation was found between RMRP and TH2-LCR among cases with correlation coefficient 0.73. ROC curve analysis indicated that TH2-LCR, MAFTRR, RMRP, and FLICR had significant prospective diagnostic power (AUC ± SD = 0.99 ± 0.002, 0.97 ± 0.01, 0.91 ± 0.01 and 0.84 ± 0.04, respectively). Best of these genes was TH2-LCR with AUC ± SD = 0.99 ± 0.002, sensitivity= 0.97, specificity= 1, P-value= <0.0001. RMRP and TH2-LCR had a positive correlation with age and age at onset and a negative correlation with EDSS. Cumulatively, TH2-LCR, MAFTRR, RMRP, and FLICR lncRNAs, particularly TH2-LCR, could be considered as potential contributors to the pathogenesis of NMO disease.