Role of the circular RNA regulatory network in the pathogenesis of biliary atresia

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) serve an essential role in the occurrence and development of cholangiocarcinoma, but the expression and function of circRNA in biliary atresia (BA) is not clear. In the present study, circRNA expression profiles were investigated in the liver tissues of patients with BA as well as in the choledochal cyst (CC) tissues of control patients using RNA sequencing. A total of 78 differentially expressed circRNAs (DECs) were identified between the BA and CC tissues. The expression levels of eight circRNAs (hsa_circ_0006137, hsa_circ_0079422, hsa_circ_0007375, hsa_circ_0005597, hsa_circ_0006961, hsa_circ_0081171, hsa_circ_0084665 and hsa_circ_0075828) in the liver tissues of the BA group and control group were measured using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis demonstrated that the identified DECs are involved in a variety of biological processes, including apoptosis and metabolism. In addition, based on the GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses, it was revealed that target genes that can be affected by circRNAs regulatory network were enriched in the TGF-beta signaling pathway, EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance pathway and transcription factor regulation pathway as well as other pathways that may be associated with the pathogenesis of BA. The present study revealed that circRNAs are potentially implicated in the pathogenesis of BA and could help to find promising targets and biomarkers for BA.