Analysis and significance of circular RNA expression profile in clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Abstract

Objective To detect the changes of expression of circular RNA (circRNA) in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) and adjacent renal tissue. Methods Four pairs of speicimen of renal clear cell carcinoma and adjacent renal parenchmal tissues diagnosed by pathology were collected and divided in two groups in the Department of Urology, First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University in December 2018. High-throughput sequencing of circRNA was done. The study analysed and compared expression profiles of circRNA for the two groups, statistically significant difference (P<0.05) were identified. Then we selected four differentially expressed circRNAs randomly for real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) to verify the sequencing results. Gene Ontology (GO) analysis, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway and protein interaction network analysis were done for differential circRNA in two groups. Results 20668 circRNAs were found, main of them derived from the exon region of the parental gene. 578 circRNAs (|log2FC|≥1, P 0.05). GO and KEGG analysis showed that significantly differentially expressed circRNA involved in various biological processes such as ccRCC components, molecular functions, and signaling pathways. Protein interaction network analysis suggested that protein endcoded by the parental gene of differential circRNAs played important role. Conclusion circRNA, its parental gene and related encoded protein play an important role in the occurrence and development of ccRCC. Key words: Circular RNA; Clear cell renal cell carcinoma; Expression profile; Bioinformatics analysis