Differentially expressed circular RNAs and the competing endogenous RNA network associated with preeclampsia

Introduction: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that are implicated in preeclampsia (PE) pathogenesis; however, their expression and functions in PE remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of circRNAs in PE and construct a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network, and analyze the associated pathways in PE pathogenesis. Methods: We performed circRNA sequencing to identify the differential expression profile of circRNAs in PE as compared to normal pregnancy. The circRNA candidates were validated using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Subsequently, we used datasets from the GEO database to generate the interaction network between circRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and mRNAs. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses were performed to understand the functional significance of the differentially expressed circRNAs in PE. Results: We identified 361 differentially expressed circRNAs (252 upregulated and 109 downregulated) in preeclamptic placentas. Within the selected 31 circRNAs, 6 of them were verified by qRT-PCR. GO and KEGG analyses revealed the potential pathways affected by these circRNAs, e.g., T cell receptor signaling and MAP kinase pathways. A total of 134 miRNAs and 199 mRNAs were revealed to be differentially expressed in PE by analyzing datasets from the GEO database. The circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network comprised 206 circRNAs, 50 miRNAs, and 38 mRNAs. KEGG analysis of the 38 mRNAs included pathways involved in AMPK and PI3K-Akt signaling. Discussion: Our results reported the differential expression profile of circRNAs and the circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in PE, which provides potential therapeutic targets for this disease.