Detection and analysis of angiogenesis pathway-associated lncRNA expression profiles in human skin fibroblasts under high-glucose conditions

Accumulating evidence has indicated that long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have crucial roles in wound healing and that vascular lesions in diabetic wounds are frequently difficult to heal. However, the role of angiogenesis pathway-associated lncRNAs in wound healing in diabetic patients has remained to be fully elucidated. In the present study, human skin fibroblasts were cultured under high-glucose conditions in vitro to mimic a diabetic environment and the angiogenesis pathway-associated lncRNA expression profile in the high- and normal-glucose groups was examined. The microarray data indicated that 14 lncRNAs and 22 mRNAs were differentially expressed. Several candidate lncRNAs and mRNAs were then analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and the results were consistent with the microarray data. Furthermore, the University of California Santa Cruz Genome Browser was used to identify mRNAs linked to angiogenesis pathways near the transcriptional region of lncRNAs. The results suggested that lncRNAs RP4-791C19.1 and CTD-2589O24.1 may act on their target genes epidermal growth factor receptor and p21 (RAC1) activated kinase 1, respectively, as enhancers and cis-regulate their expression. Therefore, the present study confirmed that several angiogenesis pathway-associated lncRNAs were differentially expressed under high-glucose conditions, which may have a key role in wound healing in patients with diabetes.