Changes in long non-coding RNA transcriptomic profiles after ischemia-reperfusion injury in rat spinal cord

With the aim of exploring expression profiles and biological functions of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and mRNAs after spinal cord ischemia-reperfusion injury (SCII), differentially expressed lncRNAs (DElncRNAs) and mRNAs (DEmRNAs) in rat spinal cords were identified following SCII through high-throughput RNA sequencing. In total, 1,455 lncRNAs and 6,707 mRNAs were observed to be differentially expressed (-Fold Change- ≥ 2 and P < 0.05) after SCII, including 761 up-regulated and 694 down-regulated lncRNAs, 3,772 up-regulated and 2,935 down-regulated mRNAs. Gene ontology and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the DElncRNAs and DEmRNAs were implicated in many different biological processes and pathways. Further, lncRNA-mRNA co-expression networks were built to explore the potential roles of these DElncRNAs. Our results demonstrate genome-wide lncRNA and mRNA expression patterns in spinal cords after SCII, which may play vital roles in post-SCII pathophysiological processes. These findings are important for future functional research on the lncRNAs involved in SCII and might be critical for providing new insight into identification of potential targets for SCII therapy.