Bioinformatics-based study of the ceRNA network and the sub-network of the Ziyin Buyang Formula in premature ovarian failure due to ovarian tumour therapy

Ovarian tumour therapy has been known to cause ovary ageing. The competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network plays an indispensable role in various diseases. We constructed the ceRNA network to examine the role of circular RNA (circRNA) in the ovaries of older women and elucidate the intervention mechanism of the Ziyin Buyang Formula. Ovarian tissue datasets were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and screened for differentially expressed circRNAs (DECs), differentially expressed miRNA (DEMis) and differentially expressed mRNAs (DEMs). The circBase and Cancer-Specific CircRNA Databse 2.0 (CSCD) database were used to predict the miRNA response elements (MREs) of DECs. Interacting miRNAs were obtained by intersecting MREs and DEMis. Based on the interaction between circRNA-miRNA and miRNA-mRNA, the node circRNA, miRNA and mRNA were obtained. The ceRNA network was constructed using the Cytoscape software. The targets of the Ziyin Buyang Formula were obtained from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology database and related literature. The sub-networks of the interventions of the Ziyin Buyang Formula were constructed according to the target genes and the corresponding relationships in the ceRNA network. A total of seven circRNAs, six miRNAs and 224 mRNAs were distinguished as nodes from 226 DECs, 35 DEMis, 1697 DEMs, 2320 MREs, 19 intersecting miRNAs and 765 intersecting mRNAs. Moreover, 96 chemical components, 239 targets and four target genes were identified in the ceRNA network of the Ziyin Buyang Formula. This study constructed a ceRNA network for ovary ageing due to ovarian tumour therapy, and the sub-network of the interventions of Ziyin Buyang Formula was predicted, providing a novel perspective for the effective treatment of ovary ageing due to ovarian tumour therapy.