Comprehensive circular RNA expression profiling with associated ceRNA network in orbital venous malformation.

Area of Science:

• Ophthalmology
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Orbital venous malformation (OVM) is a common vascular anomaly affecting vision and appearance.
• Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are implicated in various eye diseases, but their role in OVM is largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the function of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of OVM.
• To identify differentially expressed circRNAs, mRNAs, and miRNAs in OVM tissues.
• To construct regulatory networks (ceRNA) to understand molecular mechanisms in OVM.

Main Methods:

• RNA sequencing was performed on OVM and normal orbital vascular tissues.
• Differentially expressed circRNAs, mRNAs, and miRNAs were identified.
• circRNA-mRNA coexpression and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks were constructed using miRanda software.
• Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses were conducted.

Main Results:

• Identified significant numbers of differentially expressed circRNAs, mRNAs, and miRNAs in OVM.
• Validated expression changes of mRNAs and circRNAs using qRT-PCR.
• Constructed a ceRNA regulatory network highlighting key molecular interactions.
• GO analysis indicated involvement in extracellular matrix organization and actin nucleation.
• KEGG analysis revealed enrichment of pathways including PI3K-AKT signaling in OVM.

Conclusions:

• This study offers new insights into the regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in OVM pathogenesis.
• The findings contribute to understanding the molecular basis of OVM development.
• Identified potential therapeutic targets for OVM treatment.