The diagnostic value of serum lncRNA CATG00000112921.1 as a marker of multiple myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a malignant plasma cell disease. At present, numerous studies have shown that lncRNA plays a very important role in the occurrence, development and even drug resistance of multiple myeloma. It may become a potential diagnostic and prognostic marker of multiple myeloma and provide new ideas for targeted therapy. Based on the above research background, this study used gene chip technology to screen out the differentially expressed lncRNA in the serum of MM patients and healthy people, and verified more clinical serum samples to screen out the lncRNA with the largest difference as a biomarker for further research.

In this research, the data of hospitalized patients diagnosed with MM and healthy people in the Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University were retrospectively collected. The lncRNA expression profile of serum samples from patients with multiple myeloma and healthy controls was analyzed by lncRNA chip technology. The serum samples were verified by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR, and the candidate diagnostic markers were screened out. The ROC working curve was drawn to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the candidate markers and to determine their stability at different temperatures and time.

A total of 44 MM patients and 37 healthy people were involved in this research. Among them, 4 patients with MM and 4 patients with HD were sent for microarray analysis. According to Fold Change ≥ 2 and P < 0.05, a total of 17 differentially expressed lncRNA molecules were screened, of which 9 were up-regulated RNA molecules and 8 were down-regulated RNA molecules. Through real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR verification, it was found that lncRNA CATG00000112921.1 was highly expressed in the healthy control group and diminished in patients with multiple myeloma, P < 0.001. The ROC curve demonstrated that the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.749, the sensitivity was 0.636, the specificity was 0.789, and the 95 % CI was 0.636-0.862 (P < 0.001). In addition, in order to verify the effects of temperature, time and repeated freezing and thawing on lncRNA, it was placed at 25°C, 4°C, -20°C, -80°C for 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, and placed at-80°C repeated freezing and thawing 0 times, 2 times, 4 times, 8 times, and the expression level was not significantly changed.

Serum lncRNA CATG00000112921.1 may be a potential candidate diagnostic marker for multiple myeloma. The ROC curve shows that it has good diagnostic value, and its high stability at different temperatures and different times is a required condition for becoming a diagnostic marker. As far as we know, this is the first study in the world to find differential expression of lncRNA CATG00000112921.1 in peripheral serum of healthy people and newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients. This study also highlights the application of gene chip technology in screening differentially expressed genes.