Identification of immune-related lncRNAs in peripheral blood of sepsis by transcriptome sequencing and analysis core lncRNA PRKCQ-AS1 roles in prognosis and progression of sepsis

Abstract

Sepsis is a high mortality and great harm systemic inflammatory response syndrome caused by infection. lncRNAs are potential prognostic marker and therapeutic target. Therefore, we expect to screen and analyze lncRNAs with potential prognostic markers in sepsis. We obtained 2310 differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs and 7310 DEmRNAs by transcriptome sequencing. Then the immune-related lncRNA-mRNA regulatory network, which contains 14 core lncRNAs, was constructed by functional enrichment and Pearson correlation analysis. The results of immune infiltration, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and gene set variation analysis (GSVA) further confirmed the correlation between 14 key lncRNAs and immune cells. Subsequently, the key immune-related lncRNA PRKCQ-AS1 was identified by weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). RT-qPCR showed that PRKCQ-AS1 was up-regulated in clinical samples and sepsis model cells (LPS-induced HUVECs). Kaplan-Meier (KM), receiver operator characteristic (ROC), Cox regression analysis and nomogram confirmed that PRKCQ-AS1 was an independent prognostic factor in sepsis patients. Immune correlation analysis showed that PRKCQ-AS1 was involved in the immune response and inflammatory process of sepsis. Cell function assay confirmed that PRKCQ-AS1 could inhibit the LPS-induced sepsis model cells viability and promote cell apoptosis, inflammatory damage and oxidative stress. In conclusion, we constructed immune-related lncRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in the progression of sepsis and analyzed the role of PRKCQ-AS1 in the prognosis and progression of sepsis. It is confirmed that PRKCQ-AS1 is an important prognostic factor affecting the progression of sepsis and is involved in immune response.