Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the role of methylation of MALAT1 and miR-146a in the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD patients were grouped according to their methylation status of MALAT1 and miR-146a promoters, and we found that forced vital capacity, volume that has been exhaled at the end of the first second of forced expiration, and diffusion capacity for carbon monoxide were the highest in the MALAT1 HYPO + miR-146a HYPER group and lowest in the MALAT1 HYPER + miR-146a HYPO group, and COPD patients with hypermethylated MALAT1 showed lower expression of MALAT1 than that in the COPD patients with hypomethylated MALAT1. Meanwhile, miR-146a was the most significantly upregulated in the MALAT1 HYPER + miR-146a HYPO group and the most significantly downregulated in the MALAT1 HYPO + miR-146a HYPER group. Both prostaglandin E(1) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) expression were the highest in the MALAT1 HYPO + miR-146a HYPER group and the lowest in the MALAT1 HYPER + miR-146a HYPO group. In conclusion, our results established a MALAT1/miR-146a/COX2 signaling axis. The overexpression of MALAT1 could increase the expression of COX2 by inhibiting the expression of miR-146a, thus affecting the pulmonary function of COPD patients.