Fig. 5.

Verification of lncRNAs and effect of lncRNA PICSAR suppression on the proliferation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs). (a) Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR) verified 5 selected lncRNAs with the highest up-regulated differential expression according to the microarray analysis. LncRNA PICSAR is the most significantly up-regulated in RA-FLSs. (b) LncRNA PICSAR was also over-expressed in the synovial fluid of RA patients compared with the control group by qPCR. (c) The inhibition efficiency of specific PICSAR small interference RNA (siRNA) in RA-FLSs was detected by qRT-PCR. (d) Compared with negative control, the expression of p-ERK1/2 in the total ERK1/2 protein was significantly decreased in the RA-FLSs after transfection. (e) PICSAR knockdown in RA-FLSs decreases cell proliferation assessed by a Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. The absorbance at 450 nm wavelength of PICSAR-siRNA group were significantly reduced at the indicated time points compared to the other two control groups. All the results were presented as the mean ± standard deviation (S.D.) based on ≥ 3 replicates involving ≥ 3 samples. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 versus control groups.