A Novel circRNA-miRNA-mRNA Hub Regulatory Network in Lung Adenocarcinoma

The growing evidence suggests that circular RNAs (circRNAs) have significant associations with tumor occurrence and progression, yet the regulatory mechanism of circRNAs in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) remains unclear. This study clarified the potentially regulatory network and functional mechanism of circRNAs in LUAD. The expression data of circRNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs) were obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. Relying on GSE101586, GSE101684, and GSE112214, we identified differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs). Depending on GSE135918 and GSE32863, we screened out differentially expressed miRNAs (DEmiRNAs) and mRNAs (DEmRNAs), respectively. Then, a novel competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network related to LUAD was constructed. We also revealed biological processes and signal pathways regulated by these DEcircRNAs. Based on gene expression data and survival information of LUAD patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and GEO, we implemented survival analysis to select DEmRNAs related to prognosis and build a novel circRNA-miRNA-mRNA hub regulatory network. Meanwhile, quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was utilized to validate DEcircRNAs in the ceRNA hub regulatory network. As a result, a total of 8 DEcircRNAs, 19 DEmiRNAs, and 85 DEmRNAs were identified. The novel ceRNA regulatory network included 5 circRNAs, 8 miRNAs, and 22 mRNAs. The final ceRNA hub regulatory network contained two circRNAs, two miRNAs, and two mRNAs. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analyses indicated that the five DEcircRNAs may affect LUAD onset and progression through Wnt signaling pathway and Hippo signaling pathway. All in all, this study revealed the regulatory network and functional mechanism of circRNA-related ceRNAs in LUAD.