Expression profiles and functional analysis of transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) in photoaged human dermal fibroblasts

Transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) refer to a newly established family of non-coding RNAs that regulate a diverse set of biological processes. However, the function of tsRNAs in skin photoaging remains unclear. This research aims to investigate the potential correlation between tsRNAs and skin photoaging. Human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs) were irradiated with UVA at 10 J/cm(2) once a day lasting for 14 days, resulting in the establishment of a photoaging model induced by UVA. To identify the expression profiles and functions of tsRNAs, tsRNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis were conducted. qPCR was employed to validate the results of differentially expressed (DE) tsRNAs. A total of 34 tsRNAs exhibited significant differential expression between the UVA and control groups (n = 3), with nine upregulated and 25 downregulated (log(2) fold change >1.5, p-value <0.05). Six tsRNAs were selected at random and validated by qRT-PCR. The enrichment analysis of DE tsRNAs target genes indicated that the dysregulated tsRNAs appeared to be connected with cell cycle, DNA replication and the AGE-RAGE signaling pathway. The expression of tsRNAs was found to be aberrant in UVA-HDF. These findings provide insights into the UVA-induced damage and potential target genes for skin photoaging.