Integrated analysis of dysregulated lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in pulmonary vein sleeves from patients with long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently the most common arrhythmia in the world, which is an important contributor to cardiac morbidity and mortality, and classified to five types: first diagnosed AF, paroxysmal AF, persistent AF, long-standing persistent AF (LSP-AF), and permanent AF. LncRNAs, emerging as a novel therapeutic in cardiovascular medicine, attracted widespread attention, although an association LSP-AF has not been reported. An integrated analysis of dysregulated lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles were conducted in Pulmonary vein sleeves (PVS) between the patients (n=6) with mitral valve disease (MVD) and dialed left atria who develop LSP-AF and the patients (n=6) with MVD and dialed left atria who were in normal sinus rhythm (NSR), focusing specifically on the identification and characterization of lncRNAs and mRNA potentially involving in initiation of LSP-AF by a second generation lncRNA microarray. LncRNA microarray analysis shows 579 lncRNAs (393 higher, 186 lower), and 349 mRNAs (278 higher, 71 lower) was found between the LSP-AF and NSR. GO categories, pathway analyses, and interaction network showed a consistent result that differentially expressed genes contribute to the pathogenesis of LSP-AF. To conclude, this dysregulation of the lncRNA and mRNA profile provides a novel insight into the etiology of AF and furthermore, illustrates the intricate relationship between coding and ncRNA transcripts in LSP-AF. These data may offer a background/reference resource for future functional studies of lncRNAs and mRNA related to LSP-AF.