Fig. 1

Analysis of differentially expressed exosomal lncRNAs and mRNAs in patients with RA. A–C Identification of exosomes isolated from human serum by transmission electron microscopy, nanoparticle tracking analysis, and western blotting. D–E Principal component analysis of lncRNAs (D) and mRNAs (E) from all samples. F–G Heat maps of the hierarchical clustering analysis of overall DE-lncRNAs (F) and DE-mRNAs (G) in serum exosomes from patients with RA. Cut-off values: p < 0.05 and fold change > 2. H–K Volcano plot of DE-lncRNAs (H, I) and DE-mRNAs (G, K) in serum exosomes from patients with RA. H and G represent the comparison between patients with RA and healthy controls, while I and K represent the comparison between patients with RA and patients with OA. DE-lncRNAs, differentially expressed lncRNAs; DE-mRNAs, differentially expressed mRNAs; RA, rheumatoid arthritis; OA, osteoarthritis