Long Non-Coding RNA Expression Profiling in Obesity Mice with Folic Acid Supplement

Abstract

Background/aims: Obesity is a major contributor to the growing prevalence of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. This study was designed to investigate the effect of folic acid (FA) on obese mice by detecting the genome-wide expression profile of lncRNAs and mRNAs in the heart.

Methods: Heart samples were collected from mice fed with standard diet (SD), high-fat diet (HFD) and high-fat diet with FA intake (HFDF). LncRNAs and mRNAs between HFD and HFDF group were analyzed by lncRNA microarray. Nine lncRNAs and mRNAs were validated using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Bioinformatics prediction was used to investigate the potential function of these differentially expressed lncRNAs. Co-expresson analysis was used to determine the transcriptional regulatory relationship of differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs between two groups.

Results: The expression of 58,952 lncRNAs and 20,145 mRNAs in HFD and HFDF groups was profiled by using microarrays. Gene Ontology and pathway analyses indicated that the biological functions of differentially expressed mRNAs were related to inflammation, energy metabolism, and cell differentiation. Co-expression networks composed of lncRNAs and mRNAs were also constructed to investigate the potential regulatory roles of differentially expressed lncRNAs on mRNAs. LncRNAs, namely, NONMMUT033847, NONMMUT070811, and NONMMUT015327, were validated through qRT-PCR, and these lncRNAs may be important factors regulating inflammation, energy metabolism, and cell differentiation. The expression levels of Dnajb1, Egr2, Hba-a1, Il1β, Cxcl2, and Tnfsf9 were significantly different between HFD and HFDF.

Conclusions: Results suggested that FA may improve the cardiovascular function of obesity and contribute to those lncRNAs associated with inflammation and cell differentiation. In a nutshell, the present study identified a panel of lncRNAs and mRNAs that may be potential biomarkers or drug targets relevant to the high-fat diet related obesity.

Keywords: Co-expression; Expression profile; Gene; LncRNAs; Ontology; Pathway.