Genomic analysis of lncRNA and mRNA profiles in circulating exosomes of patients with rheumatic heart disease.

ABSTRACT Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) remains one of the most common cardiovascular conditions in developing countries. Accumulating evidence suggests that circulating exosomes and their cargoes, including mRNA and long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), play essential roles in many cardiovascular diseases. However, their specific roles in RHD remain unexplored. In the present study, we identified 231 lncRNAs and 179 mRNAs differentially expressed in the circulating exosomes harvested from RHD patients compared to healthy controls. We performed gene ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway analysis, and identified five pairs of lncRNAs and their flanking coding genes simultaneously dysregulated in the circulating exosomes. Collectively, we provide the first transcriptome analysis identifying differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs in circulating exosomes of RHD patients, which may bring valuable insights for the discovery of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for RHD.