Macrosomia, not only is closely associated with short-term, birth-related problems, but also has long-term consequences for the offspring. We investigated the expression of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) in the placenta of macrosomia births using a microarray profile. The data showed that 2929 lncRNAs and 4574 mRNAs were upregulated in the placenta of macrosomia births compared with the normal birth weight group (fold change ⩾2.0, P<0.05), and 2127 lncRNAs and 2511 mRNAs were downregulated (fold change ⩾2.0, P<0.05). To detect the function of the differentially expressed lncRNAs and their possible relationship with the differentially expressed mRNAs, we also performed gene ontology analysis and pathway analysis. The results demonstrated that the PI3K-AKT signalling pathway, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling pathway, the focal adhesion pathway, the B cell receptor signalling pathway, and the protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum and lysosome pathway were significantly differentially expressed in the macrosomia placenta. Four lncRNAs were randomly chosen from the differentially expressed lncRNAs to validate the microarray data by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The qPCR results were consistent with the microarray data. In conclusion, lncRNAs were significantly differentially expressed in the placenta of macrosomia patients, and may contribute to the pathogenesis of macrosomia.
Keywords: lncRNA; macrosomia; microarray; placenta.