Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 7, 2025
Suppression of Pro-fibrotic Signaling Potentiates Factor-mediated Reprogramming of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts into Induced Cardiomyocytes
Published on: June 3, 2018
Integrated whole transcriptome analysis for the crucial regulators and functional pathways related to cardiac
Shuai Miao1, Lijun Wang2, Siyu Guan1
1Tianjin Key Laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular disease, Department of Cardiology, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, the Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin 300211, China.
Background:
Cardiac fibrosis has gradually gained significance in the field of cardiovascular disease; however, its specific pathogenesis remains unclear. This study aims to establish the regulatory networks based on whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing analyses and reveal the underlying mechanisms of cardiac fibrosis.
Methods:
An experimental model of myocardial fibrosis was induced using the chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) method. Expression profiles of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and messenger RNA (mRNA) were acquired from right atrial tissue samples of rats. Differentially expressed RNAs (DERs) were identified, and functional enrichment analysis was performed. Moreover, a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network and competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) regulatory network that are related to cardiac fibrosis were constructed, and the relevant regulatory factors and functional pathways were identified. Finally, the crucial regulators were validated using qRT-PCR.
Results:
DERs, including 268 lncRNAs, 20 miRNAs, and 436 mRNAs, were screened. Further, 18 relevant biological processes, such as "chromosome segregation, " and 6 KEGG signaling pathways, such as "cell cycle, " were significantly enriched. The regulatory relationship of miRNA-mRNA-KEGG pathways showed eight overlapping disease pathways, including "pathways in cancer." In addition, crucial regulatory factors, such as Arnt2, WNT2B, GNG7, LOC100909750, Cyp1a1, E2F1, BIRC5, and LPAR4, were identified and verified to be closely related to cardiac fibrosis.
Conclusion:
This study identified the crucial regulators and related functional pathways in cardiac fibrosis by integrating the whole transcriptome analysis in rats, which might provide novel insights into the pathogenesis of cardiac fibrosis.
