Identification and characterization of circular RNAs in rapid atrial pacing dog atrial tissue

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have emerged as novel molecules of interest in gene regulation as other noncoding RNAs, and participating in the process of many diseases. However, the expression and functions of circRNAs in Rapid atrial pacing (RAP) dog atrial tissue still unknown. 12 canines were randomly assigned to control and pacing group. RAP at 500 beats per minute was maintained 14 days in the pacing group. The expression characterization of circRNAs were revealed by high-throughput sequencing. We totally predicted 15,990 circRNAs in dog atrial tissues. Moreover, we found 146 differentially expressed circRNAs between control and RAP dogs. Five circRNAs were selected for subsequent RT-PCR validation, and four circRNAs confirmed with the high throughput sequencing analysis. GO analysis showed that the differentially expressed circRNAs might involve in the process of "structural constituent of cytoskeleton, ion channel activity". We explored the circRNA-miRNA interaction network, and found extensive interaction among differentially expressed circRNAs and AF related miRNAs and mRNAs. Our work firstly identified the characterization of circRNAs in the dog atrial, and revealed the differentially expressed circRNAs in the RAP dog, this might lay a solid foundation on the function of circRNA in the mechanisms of AF.