Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 2 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, 560066, India; McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Centre of Bioinformatics, Bioinformatics Centre, School of Life Sciences, Pondicherry University, Puducherry 605 014, India
  • 3 McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
  • 4 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, 560066, India; McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
  • 5 Allergy and Immunology Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, Jalan Pahang, 50588 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 6 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Centre of Research for Computational Sciences and Informatics in Biology, Bioindustry, Environment, Agriculture and Healthcare (CRYSTAL), University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 7 Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Centre of Research for Computational Sciences and Informatics in Biology, Bioindustry, Environment, Agriculture and Healthcare (CRYSTAL), University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Electronic address: merican@um.edu.my
  • 8 Institute of Bioinformatics, International Technology Park, Bangalore, 560066, India; McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Biological Chemistry, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. Electronic address: pandey@jhmi.edu
Genomics, 2016 07;108(1):37-45.
PMID: 26778813 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygeno.2016.01.002

Abstract

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been shown to possess a wide range of functions in both cellular and developmental processes including cancers. Although some of the lncRNAs have been implicated in the regulation of the immune response, the exact function of the large majority of lncRNAs still remains unknown. In this study, we characterized the lncRNAs in human primary monocytes, an essential component of the innate immune system. We performed RNA sequencing of monocytes from four individuals and combined our data with eleven other publicly available datasets. Our analysis led to identification of ~8000 lncRNAs of which >1000 have not been previously reported in monocytes. PCR-based validation of a subset of the identified novel long intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) revealed distinct expression patterns. Our study provides a landscape of lncRNAs in monocytes, which could facilitate future experimental studies to characterize the functions of these molecules in the innate immune system.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.