The Involvement of Long Non-coding RNA and Messenger RNA Based Molecular Networks and Pathways in the Subacute Phase of Traumatic Brain Injury in Adult Mice

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex injury with a multi-faceted recovery process. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are demonstrated to be involved in central nervous system (CNS) disorders. However, the roles of lncRNAs in long-term neurological deficits post-TBI are poorly understood. The present study depicted the microarray’s lncRNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) profiles at 14 days in TBI mice hippocampi. LncRNA and mRNA microarray was used to identify differentially expressed genes. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was employed to validate the microarray results. Bioinformatics analysis [including Gene Ontology (GO), the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, lncRNA-mRNA co-expression network, and lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA network] were applied to explore the underlying mechanism. A total of 264 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 232 expressed mRNAs were identified (fold change > 1.5 and P-value < 0.05). Altered genes were enriched in inflammation, immune response, blood–brain barrier, glutamatergic neurological effects, and neuroactive ligand-receptor, which may be associated with TBI-induced pathophysiologic changes in the long-term neurological deficits. The lncRNAs-mRNAs co-expression network was generated for 74 lncRNA-mRNA pairs, most of which are positive correlations. The lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction network included 12 lncRNAs, 59 miRNAs, and 25 mRNAs. Numerous significantly altered lncRNAs and mRNAs in mice hippocampi were enriched in inflammation and immune response. Furthermore, these dysregulated lncRNAs and mRNAs may be promising therapeutic targets to overcome obstacles in long-term recovery following TBI.

YTHDF1 Attenuates TBI-Induced Brain-Gut Axis Dysfunction in Mice

“…GO and KEGG functional analyses showed that the DEGs in the mouse cortex post-TBI, in the YTHDF1-knockout group compared with the WT group, were primarily enriched in the regulation of neurotransmitter-related neuronal signalling pathways (neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, glutamatergic synapse, axon guidance, and cAMP signalling pathway); response to inflammation (cell adhesion molecule signalling pathway); and the regulation of apoptotic process (calcium signalling pathway). These signalling pathways are involved in the pathophysiological processes post-TBI [ 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ]. Among them, cell adhesion molecules play important roles in brain development, and maintaining synaptic structure, function, and plasticity [ 57 , 58 ].…”