Identification of lncRNA expression profiles associated with ovarian development and ageing process in mice

Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) participates in various biological processes, however, neither the expression profile nor the biological role of lncRNAs in mammalian ovaries has been fully studied. In this work, the lncRNA transcriptomic analysis of postnatal mice ovaries was performed by using bulk RNA sequencing in C57BL/6 mice. A total of 5302 lncRNAs were found in mouse ovaries, and 1836 lncRNAs were differentially expressed during the development and ageing process, of which targets were enriched in the developmental process, reproduction, etc. Developmental stage specific lncRNAs showed functions in system development, inflammatory response, myeloid leukocyte activation, etc. Moreover, a co-expression network analysis based on reproduction-related genes reveals lncRNAs that may regulate multiple mRNA targets in ovaries, including Neat1, Gm11613 and Gm43915. Two cis-acting lncRNAs, Ptgs2os and Gm14705, showed correlated expression pattern with their potential targets Ptgs2 and Aff2 respectively, and these lncRNA-mRNA pairs were conserved in mice and humans. WGCNA further identified 10 co-expressed modules with distinct expression patterns associated with ovarian development and ageing. Taken together, our results reveal a transcriptomic profile of mouse ovaries over the reproductive lifespan, providing insights into the molecular mechanisms of ovarian development and ageing.