RNA-seq analysis of differentially expressed LncRNAs from leishmaniasis patients compared to uninfected humans

Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease that seriously endangers human health. Furthermore, among the parasitic diseases, leishmaniasis is the third most common cause of death after malaria and schistosomiasis. However, the potential function of LncRNAs in leishmaniasis remain unclear. This study aimed to explore the differentially expressed LncRNAs in leishmaniasis. The sera of leishmaniasis patients and uninfected persons for controls were obtained and analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. Moreover, the expression of key LncRNAs was detected by qPCR. The results showed that 970 differentially expressed LncRNAs and 1692 differentially expressed mRNAs were screened compared to control groups. Then, 520 target genes were identified by using bioinformation analysis and the ENCORI database. The bioinformatics analysis revealed that the differentially expressed target genes were enriched in autophagy animal, FoxO signaling pathway, mTOR signaling pathway, and apoptosis, et al. Among those differentially expressed LncRNAs, nine key LncRNAs were selected (MALAT1, NUTM2A-AS1, and LINC00963 had high expression; LINC00622, MAPKAPK5-AS1, LINC02289, XPC-AS1, ZFAS1 and SNHG5 had low expression) by qPCR. This study suggests that different expressions of LncRNAs may involve in the potential function in leishmaniasis and provide a novel insight for diagnosis of this zoonotic disease.