Investigation of Long Noncoding RNA-NRAV and Long Noncoding RNA-Lethe Expression in Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the CCHF virus, a member of the Bunyavirales order and the Orthonairoviridae family. The exact pathogenesis is not fully understood. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNAs that are shown to play a role in various pathological processes of viral diseases. NRAV and Lethe are two well-known lncRNAs. Although previous studies have shown that NRAV and Lethe play important roles in the pathogenesis of viral infections, their role in CCHF is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of NRAV and Lethe in patients with CCHFV. Eighty patients diagnosed with CCHF were included, and RNA was extracted from their blood samples. The expression of NRAV and Lethe was measured using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Patients were divided into three groups based on severity score, which was mild, moderate, and severe, and into two groups (survivors and non-survivors). The expression levels of NRAV and Lethe were compared between these groups. Of the patients, 49 (61.25%) were male, 31 (38.75%) were female, and the mean age was 38.62 ± 19.28 years. No differences in age or gender were found between the groups. It was shown that NRAV expression was 21.86 times higher in the severe patient group compared to the moderate group and 22.74 times higher than in the mild group, statistically significant. When comparing fatal cases with survivors, NRAV expression levels were found to be 9.2 times higher in fatal cases. Lethe levels were 3 times lower in moderately severe cases compared to mild cases, but this difference was not statistically significant. In conclusion, our study suggests that NRAV may be a lncRNA involved in the pathogenesis of CCHFV.