RESUMEN
Long noncoding (lnc)RNAs serve important cellular functions and certain lncRNAs have roles in different mechanisms of gene regulation. lncRNAantisense noncoding RNA in the INK4 locus (ANRIL) affects cell inflammation; however, the potential genes underlying the inflammatory response regulated by ANRIL remain unclear. In the present study, the potential function of ANRIL in regulating gene expression and alternative splicing was assessed. ANRILregulated human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) transcriptome was obtained using highthroughput RNA sequencing (RNAseq) to evaluate the potential role of ANRIL. Following plasmid transfection, gene expression profile and alternative splicing pattern of HUVECs overexpressing ANRIL were analyzed using RNAseq. ANRIL overexpression affected the transcription levels of genes associated with the inflammatory response, NFκB signaling pathway, type I interferonmediated signal transduction pathway and innate immune response. ANRIL regulated the alternative splicing of hundreds of genes with functions such as gene expression, translation, DNA repair, RNA processing and participation in the NFκB signaling pathway. Many of these genes serve a key role in the inflammatory response. ANRILregulated inflammatory response may be achieved by regulating alternate splicing and transcription. The present study broadened the understanding of ANRILmediated gene regulation mechanisms and clarified the role of ANRIL in mediating inflammatory response mechanisms.