Differential lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network analysis revealing the potential regulatory roles of lncRNAs in myocardial infarction

Previous studies have reported that long, non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are important in cardiovascular disease. However, the lncRNAs involved in myocardial infarction and their detailed mechanism have not been well characterized. In the present study, an affymetrix microarray associated with myocardial infarction was re-annotated, following which a myocardial infarction-related differential lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network (MILMN) was constructed. Subsequently, pathway enrichment analysis was used for all the mRNAs in the MILMN, and an lncRNA-pathway network was constructed. It was found that the mRNAs were predominantly involved in certain cardiovascular disease-associated pathway, for example the dilated cardiomyopathy and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway. Finally, a total of 39 key lncRNAs were identified, which regulate crucial pathways in myocardial infarction. Through pathway analysis of these 39 key lncRNAs, the novel function of an annotated lncRNAs-H19 was predicted, which may regulate apoptosis signal-regulating kinase, which is a protein that promotes pathological cardiac remodeling following myocardial infarction. The results of the present study not only provide potential non-coding RNA biomarkers, but also provide further insights into understanding the molecular mechanism of lncRNAs.