Thousands of large intergenic noncoding RNAs (lincRNAs) have been identified in the mammalian genome, many of which have important roles in regulating a variety of biological processes. Here, we used a custom microarray to identify lincRNAs associated with activation of the innate immune response. A panel of 159 lincRNAs was found to be differentially expressed following innate activation of THP1 macrophages. Among them, linc1992 was shown to be expressed in many human tissues and was required for induction of TNFα expression. Linc1992 bound specifically to heterogenous nuclear ribonucleoprotein L (hnRNPL) and formed a functional linc1992-hnRNPL complex that regulated transcription of the TNFα gene by binding to its promoter. Transcriptome analysis revealed that linc1992 was required for expression of many immune-response genes, including other cytokines and transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulators of TNFα expression, and that knockdown of linc1992 caused dysregulation of these genes during innate activation of THP1 macrophages. Therefore, we named linc1992 THRIL (TNFα and hnRNPL related immunoregulatory LincRNA). Finally, THRIL expression was correlated with the severity of symptoms in patients with Kawasaki disease, an acute inflammatory disease of childhood. Collectively, our data provide evidence that lincRNAs and their binding proteins can regulate TNFα expression and may play important roles in the innate immune response and inflammatory diseases in humans.
Keywords: Toll-like receptors; inflammation; innate immunity.