Identification of male infertility-related long non-coding RNAs and their functions based on a competing endogenous RNA network

OBJECTIVE: To identify male infertility-related long non-coding (lnc)RNAs and an lncRNA-related competing endogenous (ce)RNA network. METHODS: Expression data including 13 normospermic and eight teratozoospermic samples from postmortem donors were downloaded from the GEO database (GSE6872). The limma R package was used to discriminate dysregulated lncRNA and micro (m)RNA profiles. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses of differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs were performed using the clusterProfiler R package. The ceRNA network of dysregulated genes was visualized by Cytoscape. RESULTS: A total of 101 DE lncRNAs and 1722 mRNAs were identified as male infertility-specific RNAs with thresholds of |log(2)FoldChange| >2.0 and adjusted P-value <0.05. GO and KEGG pathways were analyzed for DE mRNAs. Gene set enrichment analysis revealed that DE genes were enriched in embryonic skeletal system development and cytokine–cytokine receptor interactions. A ceRNA network was constructed with 26 key lncRNAs, 33 microRNAs, and 133 mRNAs. DE lncRNAs in male sterility were mainly associated with transferring phosphorus-containing groups and complexes of histone methyltransferases, methyltransferases, PcG proteins, and serine/threonine protein kinases. CONCLUSION: This provides a novel perspective to study lncRNA-related ceRNA networks in male infertility and assist in identifying new potential biomarkers for diagnostic purposes.