Involvement of plasma lncRNA GSEC in sepsis discrimination and prognosis, and its correlation with macrophage cell inflammation and proliferation

Background: Despite the dysregulation and function of G-quadruplex-forming sequence containing lncRNA (GSEC) have been widely reported in human cancers, there are few available data revealing its role in sepsis.

Objective: To assess the expression and function of GSEC in the development of sepsis and its potential molecular mechanism.

Materials and methods: A total of 78 sepsis patients, 55 non-sepsis intensive care unit patients, and 42 healthy individuals were enrolled in this study. The expression of GSEC was evaluated in plasma and macrophage cells with polymerase chain reaction. The inflammation response of sepsis patients and macrophage cells was analyzed with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The diagnostic and prognostic value of GSEC in sepsis patients were estimated by receiver operator curve (ROC) and Cox analysis. The molecular mechanism underlying the function of GSEC was investigated in RAW264.7 cell with luciferase reporter assay and cell transfection.

Results: Significant upregulation of GSEC was observed in sepsis patients' plasma, which could discriminate sepsis patients from healthy and non-sepsis individuals. Upregulation of GSEC was positively correlated with inflammation cytokine levels and adverse prognosis of sepsis patients. In vitro, GSEC was found to modulate the expression level of miR-873-3p, which mediated the regulatory effect of GSEC on the inflammation and proliferation of RAW264.7.

Conclusion: Upregulated GSEC could serve as a biomarker of sepsis pathogenesis and development. GSEC regulates the inflammation and proliferation of macrophage cells through modulating miR-873-3p.