CircRSF1: A potential diagnostic biomarker for primary Sjögren's syndrome

Aberrant expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) has been widely reported across various autoimmune diseases, where they play integral roles in the pathophysiological processes. However, the clinical significance and underlying mechanisms of most circRNAs involved in the progression of Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) remain poorly understood. The primary aim of this study was to identify novel circRNAs associated with pSS and to elucidate their potential mechanisms of action.

Hsa_circ_0000344 (CircRSF1) was identified through high-throughput sequencing and RT-qPCR, and its diagnostic significance was assessed using ROC curve analysis. Molecular biology techniques validated the biological characteristics of the circRNA. Bioinformatics tools were used to predict the potential mechanisms of action of CircRSF1.

A total of 335 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified. CircRSF1 was specifically down-regulated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and labial salivary glands (LSGs) from pSS patients, and ROC curve analysis further supported the clinical relevance of CircRSF1 in pSS. Our findings offer a transcriptomic profile of circRNAs in pSS, predict potential binding miRNAs, proteins, and modification sites, and suggest that CircRSF1 may serve as a novel diagnostic biomarker.

Our study not only provided the transcriptomic characterization of circRNAs aberrantly expressed in PBMCs and LSGs of pSS patients and identified that CircRSF1 was significantly underexpressed in pSS through a large number of clinical samples, but also utilized a variety of bioinformatics tools to explore the potential mechanism of action of CircRSF1, and clarified that it is a novel potential diagnostic biomarker for pSS.