Roles of lncRNA H19 and MALAT1 as biomarkers in patients with white-coat hypertension

Background and aim: White-coat hypertension (WCH), characterized by elevated clinic blood pressure (BP) but normal home or ambulatory BP, is a clinical observation that requires recognition and timely diagnostic follow-up. Until now, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in WCH has been unclear. In this study, we have identified deregulated lncRNAs in patients with WCH and assessed their diagnostic value. Methods: The expression levels of lncRNAs in subjects with WCH (n=35) as well as those with hypertension (HT; n=35) and normotension (NT) were acquired by microarray analysis and validated by quantitative PCR. The relationship between the lncRNA expression and clinical BP or 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was analyzed using the Pearson correlation test. Receiver operating characteristic analysis was performed to assess the diagnostic value of the selected lncRNAs. Results: Microarray data revealed 29 aberrantly expressed lncRNAs between the groups. Among these, H19 and MALAT1 were markedly upregulated in the WCH group compared to those in the NT and HT groups (P<0.01). The expression of circulating H19 and MALAT1 was negatively associated with ABPM, whereas there was no rectilinear correlation between their expression levels and clinical BP. The values for area under the curve (AUC) (95% CI) for H19 and MALAT1 were 0.76 (0.65-0.86) and 0.80 (0.69-0.89), respectively, for distinguishing WCH from HT. Conclusion: The expression levels of H19 and MALAT1 were significantly increased in subjects with WCH compared to those with NT and HT, suggesting their potential role as novel noninvasive biomarkers.