Identification of differentially expressed lncRNAs involved in transient regeneration of the neonatal C57BL/6J mouse heart by next-generation high-throughput RNA sequencing

// Yu-Mei Chen 1, * , Hua Li 2, * , Yi Fan 2 , Qi-Jun Zhang 2 , Xing Li 2 , Li-Jie Wu 2 , Zi-jie Chen 2 , Chun Zhu 3 , Ling-Mei Qian 2 1 Department of Emergency, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P.R. China 2 Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210029, P. R. China 3 Department of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210004, P. R. China * These authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Ling-Mei Qian, email: lmqian@njmu.edu.cn Chun Zhu, email: zhifangxibao@163.com Keywords: neonatal mouse, heart, regeneration, lncRNAs Received: August 15, 2016      Accepted: February 20, 2017      Published: March 03, 2017 ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that mammalian cardiac tissue has a regenerative capacity. Remarkably, neonatal mice can regenerate their cardiac tissue for up to 6 days after birth, but this capacity is lost by day 7. In this study, we aimed to explore the expression pattern of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) during this period and examine the mechanisms underlying this process. We found that 685 lncRNAs and 1833 mRNAs were differentially expressed at P1 and P7 by the next-generation high-throughput RNA sequencing. The coding genes associated with differentially expressed lncRNAs were mainly involved in metabolic processes and cell proliferation, and also were potentially associated with several key regeneration signalling pathways, including PI3K-Akt, MAPK, Hippo and Wnt. In addition, we identified some correlated targets of highly-dysregulated lncRNAs such as Igfbp3, Trnp1, Itgb6, and Pim3 by the coding-noncoding gene co-expression network. These data may offer a reference resource for further investigation about the mechanisms by which lncRNAs regulate cardiac regeneration.