ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the expression of two long non-coding RNAs ( lncRNAs ) during HIV-1 infection, which were nuclear-enriched autosomal transcript 1 (NEAT1) and metastasis asso-ciated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 ( MALAT1 ) , and their relationships with disease progression . Methods Fifty-nine patients with HIV-1 infection and 21 healthy subjects were recruited in this study , of which 31 patients were highly active antiretroviral therapy ( HAART)-na?ve and 28 patients received HAART for more than one year with undetectable viral loads .Total RNAs were extracted from PBMC and plasma samples, respectively.The levels of NEAT1 and MALAT1 were detected by quantitative real time polymer-ase chain reaction .Results The levels of NAET1 and MALAT1 in PBMC from HAART na?ve patients were 3 to 5 times higher than those in healthy subjects (P0.05).Conclusion This study suggested that NEAT 1 and MALAT1 might be involved in the disease progression in patients with HIV-1 in-fection.The level of NEAT1 in plasma could be used as a potential biomarker of HIV-1 infection.