Construction of a novel lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA network in muscle in response to exercise training

Physical inactivity has evidently been a hazard factor for many diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, etc. Rising evidence indicates that RNA, as competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA), plays an important role in adaptive changes in skeletal muscle in response to exercise training. Although the effects of exercise-induced fitness on skeletal muscle have been well established, the mechanisms underlying are not fully understood. The purpose of this study is to construct a novel ceRNA network in skeletal muscle in response to exercise training. Skeletal muscle gene expression profiles were downloaded from the GEO database. Then, we identified differentially expressed lncRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs between the pre-exercise and post-exercise samples. Subsequently, we constructed lncRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory networks based on the ceRNA theory. 1153 mRNAs (687 upregulated and 466 downregulated), 7 miRNAs (3 upregulated and 4 downregulated), and 5 lncRNAs (3 upregulated and 2 downregulated) were identified as differentially expressed genes. 3 lncRNAs, 5 miRNAs and 227 mRNAs were obtained to build miRNA-mediated ceRNA networks. We constructed a novel ceRNA regulatory network in muscle in response to exercise training, which provides insights into molecular mechanisms underlying the health benefits brought by physical activity.