Detection of long-chain non-encoding RNA differential expression in non-small cell lung cancer by microarray analysis and preliminary verification

Abstract Long‑chain non‑coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to be involved in the development and progression of non‑small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the roles of lncRNAs in NSCLC are not well understood. In this study, a high‑throughput microarray was used to compare the lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in NSCLC and normal tissue (NT) samples. Several candidate adenocarcinoma‑associated lncRNAs were verified by reverse transcription‑quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT‑qPCR). Using abundant and varied probes, we were able to assess 30,586 lncRNAs and 26,109 coding transcripts in our microarray. It was observed that 1,242 lncRNAs and 1,102 mRNAs were differentially expressed (≥2‑fold change) in NSCLC compared with NT samples, indicating that numerous lncRNAs were significantly upregulated or downregulated in NSCLC. We also observed via RT‑qPCR that 10 lncRNAs were aberrantly expressed in NSCLC compared with histologically matched normal lung tissues. Among these, RP11‑385J1.2 and TUBA4B were the most aberrantly expressed lncRNAs, as estimated by RT‑qPCR in 90 pairs of NSCLC and NT samples. In conclusion, the present study detected the lncRNA expression patterns in NSCLC by microarray. The results revealed that a number of lncRNAs were differentially expressed in NSCLC tissues, suggesting that they may play a key role in tumor development.