Identification and functional analysis of a potential key lncRNA in aged mice with postoperative cognitive dysfunction

Postoperative cognitive decline (POCD) is emerging as a significant complication of surgery in elderly patients. However, the molecular mechanisms of POCD are elusive. Here we applied microarray analyses to identify long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and mRNA expression profiles in hippocampal tissues from a mouse model of POCD and control mice. A total of 869 lncRNAs and 690 mRNAs were differentially expressed between POCD and control mice. Subsequently, six dysregulated lncRNAs and six mRNAs were confirmed via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 8 paired samples. Then, Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed to probe the vital functions of dysregulated genes. We randomly selected 6 C57 male mice (age 16-18 months) and divided them into two groups: control group (n=3) and surgery group (n=3). The surgical procedures of unilateral nephrectomy were performed to simulate a mouse model of POCD. The hippocampal tissues of the surgery and control group mice were harvested on day 3 after the surgery for RNA extraction and hybridization. The RNA labeling and array hybridization were performed by KangChen Bio-tech, Shanghai, PR China.