Identification and bioinformatic analysis of CircRNAs in the plasma of patients with very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

• Published in: BMC pulmonary medicine Vol. 23; no. 1; p. 211
• Main Authors: Tang, Sihui, Ding, Yichuan, Zhou, Zihan, Yang, Wanchun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 16.06.2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Biomarkers; Body mass index; Care and treatment; Chronic obstructive Pulmonary Disease; CircRNA; Circular RNA; Competing endogenous RNA; Computational biology; Development and progression; DNA microarrays; Down-regulation; Hypoxia; Lung diseases; Lung diseases, Obstructive; Microarray; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs; miRNA; Obstructive lung disease; Pathogenesis; Plasma; Polymerase chain reaction; Pulmonology; Respiratory diseases; Signal transduction; Software; China; United States > US; Chronic obstructive Pulmonary Disease; Microarray; CircRNA; Competing endogenous RNA
• ISSN: 1471-2466; 1471-2466
• DOI: 10.1186/s12890-023-02513-5

The differential expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in individuals with very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and healthy individuals was screened using microarray technology. The related functions and mechanisms were analyzed using bioinformatic methods to explore the potential of target circRNAs as biomarkers of COPD and provide insights for future pathogenesis. Thirty patients with very severe COPD and thirty healthy controls were diagnosed at The Second People's Hospital of Hefei from September 2021 to September 2022. The differential expression of circRNAs was compared and analyzed using a gene microarray and verified using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) technology. A total of 90 upregulated and 29 downregulated circRNAs were screened in patients with very severe COPD and compared with those in healthy controls. qRT-PCR analysis showed that hsa_circ_0062683 of patients with very severe COPD was significantly upregulated, and hsa_circ_0089763 and hsa_circ_0008882 were significantly downregulated. By constructing the circRNA-miRNA interaction network, it was found that hsa-miR-612, hsa-miR-593-5p, hsa-miR-765, and hsa-miR-103a-2-5p are the miRNAs regulated by more differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs). DEcircRNAs may participate in the development of COPD through hypoxia or regulation of various immune cells. Plasma circRNAs may play a helpful role in the diagnosis and assessment of COPD and be valuable disease biomarkers.