Profiling and bioinformatics analyses reveal differential circular RNA expression in hypertensive patients

CircRNAs, a novel class of noncoding RNAs, have been reported in many diseases. However, their role in hypertension remains unclear. Here, we aimed to determine the circRNA expression profile in hypertension patients and further construct a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network for mechanism exploration.

Plasma circRNA expression profiles were screened by circRNA microarrays and verified by qRT-PCR method. CircRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was established to predict the circRNA targets. Gene ontology (GO) analysis and KEGG pathway analysis were applied for further enrichment of mRNA data.

CircRNA microarrays study identified 13 downregulated and 46 upregulated circRNAs in hypertension patients, where four circRNAs (hsa-circ-0000437, hsa-circ-0008139, hsa-circ-0005870 and hsa-circ-0040809) showed significantly difference. By further validation, hsa-circ-0005870 exhibited significant downregulation in hypertensive patients. Then, we constructed a network of hsa-circ-0005870-targeted miRNAs, including hsa-miR-6807-3p, hsa-miR-5095, hsa-miR-1273g-3p, hsa-miR-5096, hsa-miR-619-5p, and their corresponding mRNAs. Gene oncology and KEGG pathway analysis enriched from specific mRNAs indicated the involvement of hsa-circ-0005870 in hypertension.

In summary, hsa-circ-0005870 may represent a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of hypertension, and hsa-circ-0005870-miRNA-mRNA network may provide potential mechanism for hypertension.