Long non-coding RNA expression profile in atrial fibrillation.

To investigate the expression profiles of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in atrial fibrillation (AF), atrial tissues from 3 AF patients and 3 non-AF patients that were collected for lncRNA expression microarray analyses to explore the role of lncRNA in the pathogenesis of AF. Gene Ontology (GO) categories and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed to identify the main functions of the differentially expressed genes and AF-related pathways. A total of 219 lncRNAs was found to be differentially expressed between AFs and controls. Among them, 156 were upregulated and 63 were downregulated. Eight out of 10 dysregulated lncRNAs such as uc001eqh.1 were validated by quantitative real-time PCR. GO categories, pathway analyses, and interaction network showed a consistent result that differentially expressed genes contribute to the pathogenesis of AF. In conclusion, the findings of our study provide a perspective on lncRNA in AF and the foundation for further study of the biological functions of lncRNAs in AF.