Dysregulation of long non-coding RNA profile in peripheral blood of multiple sclerosis patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which dysregulation or aberrant expressions of several immune-related genes have been noted. More recently, the participation of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in regulation of immune responses has been highlighted. In the present study, we evaluated expression levels of three lncRNAs named Nuclear Paraspeckle Assembly Transcript 1 (NEAT1), P21 associated ncRNA DNA damage activated (PANDA) and Taurine-up-regulated gene 1 (TUG1) in peripheral blood of 50 relapsing-remitting MS patients and 50 matched healthy subjects. All three lncRNAs have been significantly over-expressed in MS patients compared with healthy subjects. In addition, significant correlations were found between expression levels of these three lncRNAs in the patients group. NEAT1 expression was inversely correlated with age at onset and disease duration in female patients. Moreover, TUG1 expression was inversely correlated with disease duration in female patients. The present study provides further evidences for the role of lncRNAs in pathogenesis of MS.