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Updated: Jan 1, 2026
Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
Published on: July 20, 2022
Identification of Long Non-Coding RNA and Circular RNA Expression Profiles in Atrial Fibrillation
Na Wu1, Jun Li2, Xinghua Chen3
1Department of Epidemiology, College of Preventive Medicine, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, People's Republic of China; Evidence-based Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology Center, Army Medical University (Third Military Medical University), Chongqing, People's Republic of China.
Insights
This study identified distinct long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA) expression profiles in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, revealing their potential roles in AF pathogenesis through complex regulatory networks.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Molecular Genetics
- Non-coding RNA Research
Background:
- Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) are implicated in cardiovascular diseases.
- Their roles in atrial fibrillation (AF) remain largely unexplored.
- This study investigates lncRNA and circRNA expression in AF patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify differential lncRNA and circRNA expression profiles in atrial fibrillation.
- To explore the regulatory interactions between lncRNAs, circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in AF.
- To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying AF pathogenesis involving non-coding RNAs.
Main Methods:
- RNA sequencing of atrial tissues from AF patients and controls.
- Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) for expression validation.
- Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses.
- Construction of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks.
Main Results:
- 557 lncRNAs and 280 circRNAs showed significant differential expression in AF.
- Specific lncRNAs (VDAC2P2) and circRNAs were validated.
- Pathway analysis implicated ribosome, chromatin modification, Rap1 signaling, and cardiac muscle contraction in AF.
- lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks were constructed.
Conclusions:
- Characterized lncRNA and circRNA expression patterns in atrial fibrillation.
- Revealed intricate interactions between non-coding RNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in AF.
- Provides a foundation for understanding non-coding RNA roles in AF pathogenesis.
Background:
Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) and circular RNA (circRNA) have both been found to play important roles in cardiovascular diseases, including myocardial infarction, heart failure, and atherosclerosis. However, the role of lncRNA and circRNA in atrial fibrillation (AF) has rarely been investigated. This study aimed to identify lncRNA and circRNA expression profiles in AF patients.
Methods:
Atrial tissues from seven patients with AF and seven matched controls were collected. The lncRNA and circRNA expression profiles of atrial tissues were identified using Hiseq/Proton RNA sequencing. Validation was performed by reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) on 35 pairs of AF patients and controls. Gene Ontology (GO) categories and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. A competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was constructed.
Results:
A total of 557 lncRNAs and 280 circRNAs were significantly differentially expressed with fold change >1.5 (p<0.05). An lncRNA Voltage Dependent Anion Channel 2 Pseudogene 2 (VDAC2P2) and two circRNAs chr13_41887361_41865736_-21625 and chr13_100368574_100301460_-67114 were validated, using qRT-PCR, to have significantly different expression levels. GO and KEGG pathway analysis showed that some pathways such as ribosome and chromatin modification, Rap1 signalling and cardiac muscle contraction were involved in the pathogenesis of AF. Competing endogenous RNAs were predicted based on constructional network analysis. The LncRNA-miRNA-mRNA and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA networks were constructed by co-expressing lncRNA/circRNA and mRNAs, which were competitively combined with miRNAs.
Conclusion:
This study characterised lncRNA and circRNA expression and their interaction with mRNA and miRNA in AF.
