2.3. ncRNA-mRNA Collection and Direct Interactions Prediction

In this study, data mining and bioinformatics analyses were used to evaluate if noncoding RNAs associated to MAFLD also target PPARs. We collected and integrated a list of strongly validated associations of ncRNAs and MAFLD. Then, LncRRIsearch database was used to analyze data of lncRNA-mRNA interaction prediction [22]. With a binding energy threshold of -12 kcal/mol, we queried lncRNAs list to collect direct mRNA targets. We chose this threshold since we preferred to have a wide range of mRNAs for pathway enrichment analysis. Then in order to get an insight to the functions of these mRNA sets, we enriched each total target list in Enrich R tool.