Abstract

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still one of the major threats to human health. Although a satisfactory treatment for AD has not yet been discovered, it is necessary to continue to search for novel approaches to deal with this insidious and debilitating disease. Although numerous studies have shown that long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) occupy a significant role in a variety of diseases, their roles in AD remain unclear.

Objective: Using data analysis to explore the role of lncRNA in the course of AD, to further our understanding of AD, and to look forward to finding a new breakthrough for the treatment of AD.

Methods: We downloaded and screened expression data of the hippocampal regions of patients with AD from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. We generated lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks based on the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) hypothesis, and according to gene expression level, we constructed a coding-noncoding co-expression (CNC) network and then executed cis- and trans-regulation analyses.

Results: Through comprehensive and systematic analyses, we found that lncRNAs MALAT1, OIP5-AS1, LINC00657, and lnc-NUMB-1 regulated the expression of the key AD pathogenic genes APP, PSEN1, BACE1; and that these lncRNAs may promote the distribution of β-amyloid (Aβ protein) in the brain through exosomes. In addition, lncRNAs were found to adjust viral transcriptional expression, thereby further supporting viral pathogenesis for AD.

Conclusion: The lncRNAs MALAT1, OIP5-AS1, LINC00657, and lnc-NUMB-1 that are present in the hippocampus of AD patients exert an important influence on the development of this disease.

Keywords: AD, CNC network, cis and trans regulation, TF, ceRNA, lncRNA.