Stroke is the leading cause of death in China. Previous studies have demonstrated that long noncoding RNAs play important roles in ischemic stroke (IS). This study aimed to investigate long noncoding RNA H19 (lncRNA H19) expression in IS cases and the association between lncRNA H19 variants and IS risk and IS-related risk factors. A total of 550 IS cases and 550 controls were recruited for this study. LncRNA H19 expression was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Genotyping was conducted by the Sequenom MassARRAY technology. LncRNA H19 level in peripheral blood of IS cases was significantly upregulated compared with healthy controls (P = 0.046). No significant association was observed between lncRNA H19 rs217727 and rs4929984 polymorphisms with IS risk in all genetic models, and rs217727-rs4929984 haplotypes are not associated with IS susceptibility. Further meta-analysis also implied that the rs217727 and rs4929984 polymorphisms were not associated with IS in Chinese population. However, rs4929984 is significantly associated with the diastolic blood pressure level of IS patients (additive model: Padj = 0.007; dominant model: Padj = 0.013), whereas rs217727 is associated with international normalized ratio (additive model: Padj = 0.019; recessive model: Padj = 0.004), prothrombin time activity level (additive model: Padj = 0.026; recessive model: Padj = 0.004), and homocysteine level (recessive model: Padj = 0.048) in patients with IS. Our findings suggest that lncRNA H19 level may affect the occurrence of IS, and lncRNA H19 variants may influence blood pressure, coagulation function, and homocysteine metabolism of patients with IS in the southern Chinese Han population.
Keywords: Ischemic stroke; Long noncoding RNA H19; Polymorphism; Risk; lncRNA H19 expression.