Initial Evaluation of lncRNA A2M-AS1 Gene Expression in Multiple Sclerosis Patients.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the three leading neurodegenerative diseases worldwide. Gene expression profile studies play an important role in recognizing and preventing disease. Considering the inherent ability of biomarkers to diagnose and prognose the occurrence of a disease, with the aim of gene therapy and changing gene expression, it can be helped to treat it. In this study, by examining the gene interaction and expression of non-coding genes in patients with MS, using bioinformatics analyses, laboratory research and potential non-coding diagnostic biomarkers of MS were selected for further investigations.

Materials and methods: First, by using micro-array data analysis of the GEO database, the expression status of the long non-coding ribonucleic acid (RNA) (lncRNA) A2M-AS1 gene was investigated in patients with MS. lncRNA-mRNA interaction analysis was performed in the lncRRisearch database. After sample collection, the total RNA extracted using the RNA extraction kit from 20 patient samples and 20 healthy samples was synthesized into cDNA with the synthesis kit. The quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction experiment was performed for the final validation of expression change.

Results: Based on bioinformatic and laboratory analysis, the expression of the A2M-AS1 gene in MS samples showed a significant decrease in expression compared to healthy samples. Also, based on the receiver operating characteristic analysis, lncRNA A2M-AS1 can be introduced as an acceptable diagnostic biomarker to distinguish MS samples from healthy samples.

Conclusion: lncRNA A2M-AS1, by reducing its expression as an acceptable diagnostic biomarker, can increase the risk of developing MS.