Systematic analysis of lncRNAs, mRNAs, circRNAs and miRNAs in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis

Osteoporosis (OP) is a disease characterized by bone loss, imbalance of bone metabolism and destruction of trabecular microstructure, and associated with menopause. Studies have shown that immune related lymphocytes are involved in bone metabolism. However, the molecular mechanisms hidden in the interaction of lymphocytes with OP need to be further studied. In the present study, we investigated the expression profiles and differences of lncRNAs, mRNAs, circRNAs and miRNAs in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with postmenopausal OP using Illumina-based complementary DNA (cDNA) deep sequencing (RNA-seq). 70 lncRNAs, 475 mRNAs, 260 circRNAs and 13 miRNAs were differentially expressed in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis (OP group) compared with healthy controls (NC group). The functions of differentially expressed lncRNAs, circRNA, miRNA and potential targeting genes were predicted by Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis. Complex lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks were constructed based on differentially expressed RNAs. Taken together, our study indicated that lncRNAs, mRNA, circRNAs and miRNA could associate with the occurrence of postmenopausal OP and may be as possible biomarkers and target genes in lymphocytes for OP.