Investigation of LncRNA Expression Profiles and Analysis of Immune-Related lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA Networks in Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Introduction: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a predominant cause of blindness in the elderly. The present study is the first to investigate the alteration of lncRNAs and mRNAs in neovascular AMD.

Methods: Nine patients with neovascular AMD were included in the study. The control group comprised seven patients with epiretinal membranes. RNA sequencing was performed to obtain the differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs) and lncRNAs (DElncRNAs). Then, the DElncRNA-DEmRNA co-expression network, ceRNA network, and immune-related ceRNA subnetwork were constructed. Functional annotation of DEmRNAs between the two groups and DEmRNAs in networks was conducted. The immune cell distribution in neovascular AMD was also evaluated. Real-time qPCR (RT-qPCR) was used to validate the expression levels of key markers.

Results: A total of 342 DEmRNAs and 157 DElncRNAs were obtained in neovascular AMD. Functional annotation indicated that these DEmRNAs significantly enriched immune systemrelated processes, such as positive regulation of B cell activation, immunoglobulin receptor binding, complement activation, and classical pathway. The DElncRNA-DEmRNA co-expression network, including 185 DElncRNA-DEmRNA co-expression pairs, and the ceRNA (DElncRNA-miRNA-DEmRNA) network, containing 45 lncRNA-miRNA pairs and 73 miRNAmRNA pairs, were constructed. The immune-related ceRNA subnetwork, including 2 lncRNAs, 5 miRNAs, and 3 mRNAs, was constructed. In addition, the distribution of immune cells was slightly different between the neovascular AMD group and the control group. RT-qPCR validation indicated the consistency between the RT-qPCR results and RNA sequencing results.

Conclusion: In conclusion, STC1, S100A1, MEG3, MEG3-hsa-miR-608-S100A1, and MEG3- hsa-miR-130b-3p/hsa-miR-149-3p-STC1 may be related to the occurrence and development of neovascular AMD.