Identification and analysis profiles of circular RNAs in preeclamptic placenta

Abstract:

Objective：To describe the expression profile of circular RNA（circRNA） in human placental tissues，explore and identify abnormal circRNAs in preeclampsia（PE） placental tissue and study its possible regulating network. Methods：RNA sequencing and evaluation analysis in PE placental tissue and normal placental tissue were performed by high-throughput RNA sequencing technology，DeSeq2 was used to analyze difference，and qRT-PCR was used to identify the analysis tissue. Bioinformatics was used to perform the gene ontology（GO） analysis and the Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes（KEGG） pathway analysis in the identified differential circRNA. Results：According to the sequencing results，300 differentially expressed circRNAs were found in the severe PE placenta when compared with the normal placenta，including 151 kinds of upregulated circRNAs and 149 kinds of downregulatedcircRNAs. The qRT-PCR results showed that expression levels of hg38_circ_0014736（1.418 0±0.106 5 vs. 1.044 0±0.127 1，P=0.035） and hsa_circ_0015382（0.895 8±0.180 2 vs. 0.688 8±0.025 3，P=0.025） were significantly higher in the PE placenta tissue；ex－pression levels of hsa_circ_0007121（0.395 8±0.200 4 vs. 1.301 0±0.240 7，P=0.000） were significantly decreased in PE placenta compared with normal placenta. Bioinformatics analysis revealed that those three circRNAs，predicted target miRNAs and target gene might have a relationship with cell proliferation，response to hypoxia and post-transcriptional regulation. Conclusion：Com－pared with the normal placental tissue，abnormal expressive circRNA exists in the PE placental tissue. According to the bioinformatics，those abnormal circRNAs may play a potential role in the pathogenesis of PE.