Clinical diagnostic value and potential regulatory mechanisms of lncRNA NOP14-AS1 in chronic kidney disease

In the early stages, chronic kidney disease (CKD) can be asymptomatic, marking diagnosis difficult. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic role and potential regulatory mechanisms of nucleolar protein 14 (NOP14) -antisense RNA 1 (AS1) in patients with CKD. Herein, 68 patients with CKD, 65 patients with CKD undergoing peridialysis, and 80 healthy adults were included. The real-time reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction was performed to assess NOP14-AS1 levels, and its diagnostic value was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curves. Additionally, cell proliferation and apoptosis were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. and flow cytometry, respectively. Oxidative stress levels were determined using superoxide dismutase and malondialdehyde MDA kits, and the dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to determine the relationship between NOP14-AS1 and microRNA-326 (miR-326) target binding. Lastly, the potential mechanism underlying miR-326 target gene regulation in CKD progression were explored utilizing Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes databases. Notably, patients with CKD exhibited decreasedNOP14-AS1 levels and upregulated miR-326 levels. NOP14-AS1 and miR-326 exhibited combined effects on cell proliferation, apoptosis, inflammatory factors, and oxidative stress levels. Furthermore, the target genes of miR-326 showed enrichment in CKD-associated rat sarcoma and phosphoinositide 3-kinase protein kinase B pathways. Altogether, the findings of this study show the potential of NOP14-AS1 as a diagnostic marker in CKD. Overall, NOP14-AS1 regulates the miR-326 expression, which, in turn, regulates various miR-326 target gene-associated signaling pathways, thereby affecting the occurrence and development of CKD.