Long non-coding RNAs regulate effects of β-crystallin B2 on mouse ovary development

β-crystallin B2 (CRYBB2) knockout mice exhibit morphological and functional abnormalities in the ovary. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) regulate gene transcription and translation, and epigenetic modification of genomic DNA. The present study investigated the role of lncRNAs in mediating the effects of CRYBB2 in the regulation of ovary development in mice. In the current study, ovary tissues from wild-type (WT) and CRYBB2 knockout mice were subjected to lncRNA and mRNA microarray profiling. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses were performed to group the differentially expressed lncRNAs into regulated gene pathways and functions. The correlation matrix method was used to establish a network of lncRNA and mRNA co-expression. Quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used to verify expression of a number of these differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs. There were 157 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 1,085 differentially expressed mRNAs between ovary tissues from WT and CRYBB2 knockout mice. The GO and KEGG analyses indicated that these differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were important in Ca2+ signaling and ligand and receptor interactions. The correlation matrix method established an lncRNA and mRNA co-expression network, consisting of 53 lncRNAs and 45 mRNAs with 98 nodes and 75 connections. RT-qPCR confirmed downregulation of lncRNA A-30-P01019163 expression, which further downregulated its downstream gene purinergic receptor P2X, ligand-gated ion channel, 7 (P2rx7) expression in ovary tissues from CRYBB2 knockout mice. In conclusion, CRYBB2 regulates expression of different lncRNAs to influence ovary development. lncRNA A-30-P01019163 may affect ovarian cell cycle and proliferation by regulating P2rx7 expression in the ovary.