Circular RNA expression and the competitive endogenous RNA network in pathological, age-related macular degeneration events: A cross-platform normalization study.

Abstract

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) causes irreversible blindness in people aged over 50 worldwide. The dysfunction of the retinal pigment epithelium is the primary cause of atrophic AMD. In the current study, we used ComBat and Training Distribution Matching to integrate data obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus database. Integrated sequencing data were analyzed by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis. Peroxisome and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) signaling via nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) were among the top 10 pathways and were selected to construct AMD cell models to identify differentially expressed circular RNAs (circRNAs). A competing endogenous RNA network, related to differentially expressed circRNAs, was then constructed. This network included seven circRNAs, 15 microRNAs, and 82 mRNAs. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis of mRNAs in this network showed that the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) signaling pathway is a common downstream event. The results of the current study may provide insights into the pathological processes that cause atrophic AMD.