Zheming Wu1, Bing Liu2, Yan Ma2, Haisong Chen1, Jing Wu3, Jiawei Wang2. 1. Guangzhou Aier Eye Hospital, Guangzhou, China. 2. Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China. 3. Department of Pharmacy, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Abstract
PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine whether circular RNAs (circRNAs) in whole blood could be served as novel non-invasive biomarkers for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study comprised 34 healthy participants, 34 PDR patients and 34 non-proliferative DR (NPDR) patients. High-throughput whole transcriptome sequencing was performed to explore the expression profile of circRNAs in the whole blood, and the candidate circRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated the ability of these candidate circRNAs in discriminating PDR patients from NPDR patients and healthy subjects. Finally, the networks of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA based on the candidate circRNAs were constructed. RESULTS: Using sequencing and qRT-PCR, hsa_circ_0001953 was found to be elevated in PDR patients in contrast with the other two groups. Statistical analysis showed that the expression levels of hsa_circ_0001953 in PDR patients were positively related to the duration of diabetes and HbAc1. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that hsa_circ_0001953 was associated with a high diagnostic accuracy in discriminating PDR patients from NPDR patients and healthy controls, resulting in an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.87 and 0.92, respectively. The circRNA-miRNA-target gene networks for hsa_circ_0001953 showed that hsa_circ_0001953 could interact with dozens of miRNAs and some targeted mRNAs have been potentially involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that hsa_circ_0001953 in the whole blood may serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for PDR.
PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine whether circular RNAs (circRNAs) in whole blood could be served as novel non-invasive biomarkers for proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study comprised 34 healthy participants, 34 PDR patients and 34 non-proliferative DR (NPDR) patients. High-throughput whole transcriptome sequencing was performed to explore the expression profile of circRNAs in the whole blood, and the candidate circRNAs were validated by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated the ability of these candidate circRNAs in discriminating PDR patients from NPDR patients and healthy subjects. Finally, the networks of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA based on the candidate circRNAs were constructed. RESULTS: Using sequencing and qRT-PCR, hsa_circ_0001953 was found to be elevated in PDR patients in contrast with the other two groups. Statistical analysis showed that the expression levels of hsa_circ_0001953 in PDR patients were positively related to the duration of diabetes and HbAc1. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that hsa_circ_0001953 was associated with a high diagnostic accuracy in discriminating PDR patients from NPDR patients and healthy controls, resulting in an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.87 and 0.92, respectively. The circRNA-miRNA-target gene networks for hsa_circ_0001953 showed that hsa_circ_0001953 could interact with dozens of miRNAs and some targeted mRNAs have been potentially involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that hsa_circ_0001953 in the whole blood may serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker and potential therapeutic target for PDR.