Expression and preliminary functional characterization of the long non-coding RNA lnc-DC in renal tissues from patients with lupus nephritis

Long non-coding RNAs are important regulators of immune-mediated inflammation and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. However, the expression of lnc-DC in renal tissues from patients with lupus nephritis (LN) has not been investigated. This study evaluated lnc-DC expression in renal tissues from patients with LN and explored its potential role in renal inflammation. Lnc-DC expression was measured by quantitative real-time PCR in renal tissues from five patients with biopsy-proven LN and four controls. Associations between lnc-DC expression and clinical parameters were analyzed. Functional studies were performed in HK-2 cells to evaluate the effects of proinflammatory cytokine stimulation and lnc-DC overexpression. Lnc-DC expression was significantly elevated in renal tissues from patients with LN compared with controls. Exploratory correlation analyses suggested positive associations between renal lnc-DC expression and erythrocyte sedimentation rate and anti-dsDNA antibody titers; however, these findings were based on very small sample sizes and are insufficient for inference. In HK-2 cells, IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-17 increased lnc-DC expression, whereas lnc-DC overexpression was associated with increased IL1B and TNF mRNA expression. Lnc-DC expression was higher in renal tissues from patients with LN than in controls; however, given the very small sample size, this finding should be interpreted cautiously, and potential confounding by differences in age and sex cannot be excluded. In vitro findings suggest a potential relationship between lnc-DC and inflammatory responses in HK-2 cells. These findings should be considered preliminary and require further validation.