Abstract
Aim Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been found to contribute to the regulation of many diseases and are abundantly expressed in various organisms. The present study is aimed at systematically characterizing the circRNA expression profiles in patients with senile osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) and predicting the potential functions of the regulatory networks correlated with these differentially expressed circRNAs. Methods The circRNA expression profile in patients with senile OVCF was explored by using RNA sequencing. The prediction of the enriched signaling pathways and circRNA-miRNA networks was conducted by bioinformatics analysis. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to validate the selected differentially expressed circRNAs from 20 patients with senile OVCF relative to 20 matched healthy controls. Results A total of 884 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified, of which 554 were upregulated and 330 were downregulated. The top 15 signaling pathways associated with these differentially expressed circRNAs were predicted. The result of qRT-PCR of the selected circRNAs was consistent with RNA sequencing. Conclusions CircRNAs are differentially expressed in patients with senile OVCF, which might contribute to the pathophysiological mechanism of senile osteoporosis.
Highlights
Osteoporosis has been the most common age-related bone disorder characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and deterioration of microarchitecture with increased bone fragility and subsequent susceptibility to fractures [1, 2]
Primary osteoporosis can be divided into postmenopausal osteoporosis and senile osteoporosis
A common age-related degenerative disease, is characterized by impaired bone formation principally with a low bone turnover state [5, 6], whereas postmenopausal osteoporosis is related to excessive bone absorption owing to estrogen deficiency [7]
Summary
Osteoporosis has been the most common age-related bone disorder characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) and deterioration of microarchitecture with increased bone fragility and subsequent susceptibility to fractures [1, 2]. In spite of its severe harm, osteoporosis is normally asymptomatic clinically at the early stage, and it is always ignored until the first fragility fracture happens. A common age-related degenerative disease, is characterized by impaired bone formation principally with a low bone turnover state [5, 6], whereas postmenopausal osteoporosis is related to excessive bone absorption owing to estrogen deficiency [7]. Despite the advances in therapeutic strategies, the diagnosis of senile osteoporosis at an early stage and the poor prognosis remains challenging. There is an urgent need for a better understanding of the pathogenesis of senile osteoporosis in order to identify novel biomarkers and to develop new treatment strategies for the prevention and treatment of senile osteoporosis
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