Research progress on the role of non-coding RNA in chemotherapy resistance of osteosarcoma / 中华骨科杂志

Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. With the emergence of chemotherapy resistance in recent years, the survival rate of osteosarcoma patients has reached a bottleneck. Therefore, exploration of its chemoresistance mechanism is one of the popular research directions currently. Non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a class of RNA without the ability to encode proteins, which is classified into microRNA, long non-coding RNA, and circular RNA based on length and shape. With the development of high-throughput sequencing technology, there is increasing evidence that some non-coding RNAs are abnormally upregulated or downregulated in osteosarcoma cells and affect the response of osteosarcoma to four commonly used chemotherapeutic drugs (methotrexate, doxorubicin, cisplatin and ifosfamide) through mechanisms such as regulation of apoptosis, cell cycle, signaling pathways, intracellular drug concentration, and cellular autophagy. Therefore, thesenon-coding RNAs are expected to be novel targets for osteosarcoma treatment. In this paper, the current studies were searched and reviewed on the above three non-coding RNAs mediating chemoresistance in osteosarcoma, aiming to provide a reference for breaking the bottleneck of survival rate of osteosarcoma patients.

Expression of CircRNA_0048211 and its correlation with bone metabolic markers in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis / 中华骨科杂志

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of serum CircRNA_0048211 expression level in postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) and its correlation with bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BALP), osteopontin (OPN), procollagen type I N-terminal propeptide (PINP) and β-crosslaps (β-CTX). Methods:Data of postmenopausal women who underwent physical examination in our hospital from January 2019 to December 2021 were collected. All subjects were measured bone mineral density (BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and divided into PMOP group, decreased bone mass group and normal bone mass group according to BMD level. The serum CircRNA_0048211, BALP, OPN, PINP and β-CTX levels were compared in each group. Binary logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of PMOP, the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn to analyze the diagnostic value of CircRNA_0048211, BALP, OPN, PINP and β-CTX on PMOP. The correlation between CircRNA_0048211 expression level and BALP, OPN, PINP and β-CTX was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. Results:A total of 218 patients were included in this study. Age is 60.52±6.83 years (range, 47-76 years), body mass index is 24.27±2.28 kg/m 2 (range, 22.18-25.73 kg/m 2) and menopausal time is 10.16±4.25 years (range, 2.30-21.80 years). There were 40 cases in PMOP group, 97 cases in osteopenia group and 81 cases in normal bone mass group. The serum CircRNA_ 0048211, BALP, OPN, PINP and β-CTX was significantly different between PMOP group, osteopenia group and normal group ( F=21.15, P<0.001; F=12.52, P<0.001; F=17.86, P<0.001; F=14.32, P<0.001; F=15.52, P<0.001). The serum CircRNA_0048211 level in PMOP group (0.37±0.08) were significantly lower than that of osteopenia group (1.05±0.46) and normal bone mass group (1.73±0.81), the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). The levels of BALP (28.42±7.35 μg/L), OPN (17.28±7.30 ng/ml), PINP (58.40±14.37 ng/ml) and β-CTX (1.52±0.28 μg/L) in PMOP group were significantly higher than those in osteopenia group (22.61±5.93 μg/L, 11.95±5.64 ng/ml, 49.16±11.24 ng/ml, 0.81±0.17 μg/L) and normal bone mass group (16.30±4.18 μg/L, 7.62±3.25 ng/ml, 35.48±7.12 ng/ml, 0.37±0.10 μg/L), the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that decreased CircRNA_0048211 expression level [ OR=3.53, 95% CI (2.73, 10.32)] was a risk factor for the occurrence of PMOP ( P<0.001). ROC curve showed that CircRNA_0048211≤0.76 has a diagnostic significance on PMOP, and its combination of BALP, OPN, PINP and β-CTX has the highest AUC [0.95, 95% CI (0.89, 1.00)] in diagnosing PMOP. Correlation analysis showed that CircRNA_0048211 expression level were negatively correlated with BALP, OPN, PINP and β-CTX ( r=-0.46, P<0.001; r=-0.80, P<0.001; r=-0.81, P<0.001; r=-0.69, P<0.001). Conclusion:The CircRNA_0048211 showed low expression in PMOP, which was negatively correlated with BALP, OPN, PINP and β-CTX. The combination of these five factors has certain clinical value in the diagnosis of PMOP.

Expression of CircRNA_0005853 in elderly patients with acute cerebral infarction and its correlation with cognitive dysfunction / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To explore the correlation between the expression level of the serum CircRNA_ 0005853 and cognitive impairment in elderly patients with acute cerebral infarction (ACI).Methods:A total of 120 elderly patients with ACI admitted to Haikou Third People′s Hospital from January 2019 to March 2022 were retrospectively selected. According to the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score of the patients 4 weeks after treatment, they were divided into a cognitive impairment free group (MoCA score≥26, 55 cases) and a cognitive impairment group (MoCA score<26, 65 cases). The cognitive impairment group was redivided into mild group (MoCA score 21-25, 16 cases), moderate group (MoCA score 15-20, 38 cases), and severe group (MoCA score<15, 11 cases) based on the severity of cognitive impairment. The serum CircRNA_0005853 expression level of each group was compared. multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the risk factors for cognitive impairment after ACI. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drown to analyze the value of CircRNA_0005835 expression level in predicting cognitive impairment. Using Pearson correlation analysis, the correlation between the expression level serum CircRNA_0005835 and MoCA score in patients with cognitive impairment was analyzed.Results:There were statistically significant differences in age, infarct size, and triglycerides between the cognitive impairment group and the non cognitive impairment group (all P<0.05). The MoCA score of the cognitive impairment group was lower than that of the non cognitive impairment group [(19.62±2.73)points vs (28.10±1.05)points, P<0.001]. The expression level of Serum CircRNA_0005835 in the cognitive impairment group was higher than that of the non cognitive impairment group (2.48±1.02 vs 1.25±0.46, P<0.001), and in the severe group, the expression level of the serum CircRNA_0005835 (2.90±1.26) was higher than that of the moderate group (1.87±0.84) and the mild group (0.92±0.35) ( P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis shew that age ( OR=1.662, 95% CI: 1.140-2.873), infarct size>3.0 cm 2 ( OR=1.853, 95% CI: 1.317-4.112), and CircRNA_0005835 ( OR=2.217, 95% CI: 1.635-5.540) were risk factors for cognitive impairment after ACI. The area under the curve (AUC) of CircRNA_0005835 expression level predicting cognitive impairment was 0.837(95% CI: 0.779-0.894), with a sensitivity of 80.2% and a specificity of 83.7%. The AUC of CircRNA_0005835 expression level predicting cognitive impairment was 0.837(95% CI: 0.779-0.894), with a sensitivity of 80.2% and a specificity of 83.7%. The correlation analysis shew that the expression level of serum CircRNA_0005835 in elderly ACI patients was negatively correlated with MoCA score ( r=-0.773, P<0.001). Conclusions:The increased expression level of serum CircRNA_0005853 is related to the occurrence and development of cognitive dysfunction after elderly ACI, and has certain value in predicting cognitive dysfunction.

The role of circRNAs in renal cell carcinoma / 中国医师杂志

Renal cell carcinoma is a malignant tumor originating from renal tubular epithelial cells. Its pathogenesis is complicated, with no typical early clinical symptoms. Most patients are already in the advanced stage at the time of diagnosis and have a high mortality rate. The development mechanism and treatment strategy of renal cell carcinoma are the current research focus. In recent years, non-coding RNA has been proved to play a crucial role in regulating tumor progression. Among them, circular RNA plays a unique role in tumor development due to its nonlinear structure. The dysregulation of circular RNA is closely related to the progression of a series of diseases including metabolic diseases and cancer. Similarly, circular RNA plays a key role in the progression, treatment, and prognosis prediction of renal cell carcinoma. This article briefly reviews role of circular RNA in renal cell carcinoma, hoping to bring new research directions for the diagnosis and treatment of renal cell carcinoma.

Analysis of circRNA in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma based on high-throughput sequencing data / 国际肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To analyze circRNAs specifically differentially expressed in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) based on high-throughput sequencing data.Methods:Six patients with pathologically confirmed ESCC in Tangdu Hospital of Air Force Medical University from March 2018 to March 2019 were selected as the research subjects, among which 3 were stage Ⅰ ESCC and 3 were stage Ⅲ ESCC. High-throughput sequencing technology was used to analyze the difference in the expression of circRNA in cancer tissues and adjacent tissues of patients. GO enrichment analysis, KEGG enrichment analysis and Venn analysis were performed on differentially expressed genes. The circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network was constructed using Cytoscape software. The most significantly differentially expressed genes in cancer tissues were verified in cells and tissues, and the relationships between circRNAs and clinical pathological indicators of patients were analyzed.Results:A total of 553 differentially expressed circRNAs were screened in paracancerous tissues and cancer tissues of 3 stage Ⅰ ESCC patients, of which 413 were up-regulated and 140 were down-regulated in cancer tissues; A total of 425 differentially expressed circRNAs were screened in paracancerous tissues and cancer tissues of 3 stage Ⅲ ESCC patients, of which 276 were up-regulated and 149 were down-regulated in cancer tissues. GO enrichment analysis showed that the host genes of differential circRNAs in patients with stage Ⅰ ESCC were mainly enriched in cell cycle-related biological processes such as mitotic G 2/M transition. The host genes of differential circRNAs in patients with stage Ⅲ ESCC were mainly enriched in biological processes related to cell division and tumor development, such as mitotic spindle checkpoint and cell matrix adhesion. KEGG enrichment analysis showed that the differential circRNAs in cancer tissues of stage Ⅰ and stage Ⅲ ESCC patients were mainly enriched in cancer-related biological pathways such as cell adhesion. The results of Venn analysis showed that in stage Ⅰ ESCC patients and stage Ⅲ ESCC patients, 2 and 8 circRNAs that were only specifically expressed in paracancerous tissues and had significant differences were screened out respectively, and were only specifically expressed in cancer tissues with significant differences were 11 and 14 respectively. The circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network showed that the cancer tissue-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in stage Ⅰ ESCC patients consisted of 7 circRNA nodes, 10 miRNA nodes and 28 mRNA nodes, and the cancer tissue-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network in stage Ⅲ ESCC patients consisted of 7 circRNA nodes, 9 miRNA nodes and 49 mRNA nodes. The most significantly differentially expressed hsa-circ-0060927 and hsa-circ-0109301 in cancer tissues of patients with stage Ⅰ ESCC and stage Ⅲ ESCC were selected for cytological and histological verification. The results showed that the relative expression levels of hsa-circ-0060927 in ESCC cell lines TE1, TE13, KYSE30, KYSE170, and human normal esophageal epithelial cell line HEEC were 7.82±1.96, 12.69±2.68, 12.78±2.74, 7.53±1.75, and 2.43±0.17, respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=4.68, P=0.004). The relative expression levels of hsa-circ-0060927 in ESCC cell lines TE1, TE13, KYSE30, and KYSE170 were higher than that in human normal esophageal epithelial cell line HEEC, with statistically significant differences ( P=0.009; P=0.003; P=0.003; P=0.007). The relative expression levels of hsa-circ-0109301 in ESCC cell lines TE1, TE13, KYSE30, KYSE170, and human normal esophageal epithelial cell line HEEC were 5.16±1.32, 6.28±1.57, 4.89±1.13, 8.92±2.12, and 22.56±4.13, respectively, with a statistically significant difference ( F=4.31, P=0.022). The relative expression levels of hsa-circ-0109301 in ESCC cell lines TE1, TE13, KYSE30, and KYSE170 were lower than that in human normal esophageal epithelial cell line HEEC, with statistically significant differences ( P=0.027; P=0.015; P=0.024; P=0.008). The expression level of hsa-circ-0060927 in cancer tissues of 13 early ESCC patients was 12.89±2.67, significantly higher than 5.73±1.18 in paracancerous tissue, and there was a statistically significant difference ( t=15.02, P<0.001) ; the expression level of hsa-circ-0109301 in cancer tissues of 19 patients with advanced ESCC was 7.78±2.17, significantly lower than 16.32±3.15 in paracancerous tissue, and there was a statistically significant difference ( t=9.73, P<0.001). The expression of hsa-circ-0109301 was related to the degree of tumor differentiation in advanced ESCC patients ( P=0.023) . Conclusion:One circRNA (hsa-circ-0060927 and hsa-circ-0109301) with the most significanty differential expression is selected in early and advanced ESCC patients respectively, in which hsa-circ-0060927 is highly expressed in ESCC cancer tissues and hsa-circ-0109301 is lowly expressed in ESCC cancer tissues, and the expression of hsa-circ-0109301 is correlated with the degree of tumor differentiation.

Research progress on regulatory network of competitive endogenous RNA in trophoblast biological behavior in preeclampsia / 中华围产医学杂志

Preeclampsia is a unique complication in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, but its pathogenesis remains unclear and the early diagnosis and treatment methods are yet to be perfect. Termination of pregnancy at the right time is the only way to prevent its deterioration and avoid adverse pregnancy outcomes. In recent years, with the in-depth research, non-coding RNAs has been found to be involved in many important physiological and pathological processes such as proliferation and apoptosis of trophoblast cells and these non-coding RNAs can regulate each other to form an intricate and competitive endogenous RNA regulatory network. This article will introduce the biological roles of non-coding RNAs in regulating the invasion and proliferation of trophoblast cells in patients with preeclampsia and possible regulatory relationship between non-coding RNAs. Furthermore, the potential clinical value of non-coding RNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for preeclampsia and therapeutic targets are also elaborated.

Circular RNA circATL2 regulates radiosensitivity of rectal cancer via miR-205 / 中华放射肿瘤学杂志

Objective:To investigate the effect and mechanism of circular RNA (cirRNA) on the radiosensitivity of rectal cancer.Methods:The differential circRNAs in radiosensitive and radioresistant rectal cancer tissues (biopsy tissue before radiotherapy and chemotherapy) were detected by gene sequencing, and the effect of circRNAs on the radiosensitivity of colorectal cancer cells was further confirmed in vitro. Results:Through gene sequencing of rectal cancer tissue samples, 64 circRNAs were found to be highly expressed in radiosensitive rectal cancer tissues, and 36 circRNAs were lowly expressed in radiosensitive tissues. Ten differential circRNAs were selected and verified by qRT-PCR, and it was found that circATL2 was highly expressed in radiosensitive rectal cancer tissues. In vitro cell experiment indicated that up-regulation of circATL2 expression could significantly improve the radiosensitivity of rectal cancer. Subsequently, 8 miRNAs lowly expressed in radiosensitive rectal cancer tissues were analyzed. The direct binding relationship between miR-205 and circATL2 was confirmed by dual luciferase reporter assay. The rescue experiment confirmed that circATL2 in rectal cancer regulated the radiosensitivity of rectal cancer through miR-205. Conclusion:circATL2 regulates the radiosensitivity of rectal cancer by binding to miR-205.

Research progress of circular RNA in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma / 中国医师杂志

CircRNA(circular RNA) is a new class of covalently closed circular non-coding RNAs, with the function of the microRNA sponge, regulation of gene expression, and other functions. Studies have confirmed that circRNAs are involved in the occurrence and progression of a variety of tumors, and can be used as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for tumor diagnosis and prognosis evaluation. In this paper, the expression and mechanism of circRNA in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma are reviewed.

Research progress of circRNA in breast cancer drug resistance / 国际外科学杂志

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women worldwide, and it seriously threatens women′s life and health. circular RNA (circRNA) play a key role in the development and drug resistance of various cancers, including breast cancer. circRNA is an endogenous RNA molecule with a single-stranded closed structure, which has unique biological characteristics and function, and is a current research hotspot. This article will review circRNA as potential biomarkers to predict breast cancer drug resistance and therapeutic targets.

Peripheral blood circular RNA circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in pancreatic cancer / 中国医师杂志

Objective:To clarify the clinical significance, diagnostic and prognostic values of circular RNA circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 in peripheral blood of pancreatic cancer, and analyze their impact on the biological function of pancreatic cancer cells.Methods:The peripheral blood samples of 97 pancreatic cancer patients and 71 healthy controls were collected, and the expression of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 was analyzed by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The relationships between the expression of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 and clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of pancreatic cancer were analyzed by chi-square test, K-M survival curves and Cox proportional hazards regression model. The area under curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The effects of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 on the proliferation, migration, invasion and epithelial mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of Bxpc-3 cells were analyzed by methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) method, cell scratch test, Transwell invasion and Western blot.Results:The expression of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 in peripheral blood of pancreatic cancer patients was higher than those of healthy controls (all P<0.05). High expression of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 was associated with higher clinical stage, lymph node metastasis and venous invasion, and were independent risk factors for poor prognosis in pancreatic cancer (all P<0.05). The overall survival rate of patients with high expression of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 was significantly lower than that of patients with low expression of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 (all P<0.05). The AUC of circ_0141633, circ_0008234, the combination of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234, CA19-9 in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer was 0.70, 0.67, 0.88 and 0.82, with sensitivity of 64.32%, 60.79%, 78.22% and 73.97%, respectively. The specificity was 68.54%, 65.46%, 81.65% and 79.41%, respectively. The diagnostic efficiency of combination was superior to CA19-9, circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 alone (all P<0.05). Interfering with circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 alone could inhibit the proliferation, migration, invasion and EMT of Bxpc-3 cells, and the above inhibitory effect was more obvious after interfering with both of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 (all P<0.05). Conclusions:The high expression of circ_0141633 and circ_0008234 in peripheral blood could be used as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of pancreatic cancer, and could promote the progression of pancreatic cancer.

Research progress of circular RNA in oral squamous cell carcinoma / 中国医师杂志

Circular RNA (CircRNA) is an endogenous closed circular noncoding RNA widely existing in organisms. It has a variety of biological functions and the characteristics of stable structure, high conservation, tissue and developmental stage specificity. Studies have confirmed that CircRNA plays an important role in regulating tumor gene expression, including participating in the occurrence, development and metastasis of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). It has the potential to become a new biomarker for the diagnosis and prognosis of OSCC, and can be used as a potential target for the treatment of OSCC. This paper reviews the biological characteristics of CircRNA and its latest research status in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of OSCC.

Role of hsa_circ_0025853 in hypothermia-induced reduction of oxygen-glucose deprivation and restoration injury to neuroblastoma cells / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the role of hsa_circ_0025853 in hypothermia-induced reduction of oxygen-glucose deprivation and restoration (OGD/R) injury to neuroblastoma cells (SK-N-SH cells). Methods:SK-N-SH cells were cultured in vitro to the logarithmic phase and divided into 4 groups ( n=20 each) using a random number table method: control group (group C), group OGD/R, hypothermia group (group H) and hsa_circ_0025853 small interfering RNA (siRNA) plus hypothermia group (group S+ H). The cells were cultured in normal culture atmosphere in group C. The cells were subjected to OGD for 3 h followed by restoration of oxygen-glucose supply for 24 h in group OGD/R.The cells were subjected to OGD for 3 h followed by restoration of oxygen-glucose supply for 24 h at 32 ℃ in group H. The cells were transfected with siRNA at 48 h before establishing OGD/R model, and the other treatments were similar to those previously described in group H. At 24 h of restoration of oxygen-glucose, cell viability was measured by Cell Counting Kit-8, apoptosis rate were measured by flow cytometry.the expression of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) mRNA and hsa_circ_0025853 was detected by quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction, and the expression of Drp1 protein was detected by Western blot. Results:Compared with group C, the cell viability was significantly decreased, the apoptosis rate of cells was increased, the expression of hsa_circ_0025853 was down-regulated, and the expression of Drp1 protein and mRNA was up-regulated in the other 3 groups ( P<0.05). Compared with group OGD/R, the cell viability was significantly increased, the apoptosis rate of cells was decreased, the expression of hsa_circ_0025853 was up-regulated, and the expression of Drp1 protein and mRNA was down-regulated in H and S+ H groups ( P<0.05). Compared with group H, the cell viability was significantly decreased, the apoptosis rate of cells was increased, the expression of hsa_circ_0025853 was down-regulated, and the expression of Drp1 protein and mRNA was up-regulated in group S+ H ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The mechanism by which hypothermia alleviates the OGD/R injury to SK-N-SH cells is related to the up-regulation of hsa_circ_0025853 expression, thus reducing the expression level of Drp1.

Role of hsa_circ_0081596 in oxygen-glucose deprivation and restoration injury to human neurons / 中华麻醉学杂志

Objective:To evaluate the role of hsa_circ_0081596 in oxygen-glucose deprivation and restoration (OGD/R) injury to human neurons. Methods:SK-N-SH cells were cultured and the cells within 5 generations were divided into 4 groups ( n=20 each) using a random number table method: control group (group C), OGD/R group (group O), OGD/R+ siRNA group (group S) and OGD/R+ siRNA negative control group (group I). The cells in C group were cultured under normal conditions of 37 ℃ and 5% CO 2.The cells in group O were placed in 6- or 96-well plates until they were completely attached to the wall, and then subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation for 4 h, followed by restoration of oxygen-glucose for 24 h. In group S and group I, the cells were transfected with hsa_circ_0081596 siRNA and its negative control, respectively, and 72 h later OGD/R model was established.The expression of hsa_circ_0081596 and mitochondrial fission protein 1 (Fis1) mRNA was detected using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction.The expression of Fis1 was determined by Western blot, the cell survival rate was determined by CCK-8 assay and the apoptosis rate was determined by flow cytometry. Results:Compared with group C, the expression of hsa_circ_0081596, Fis1 and its mRNA was significantly up-regulated, the cell survival rate was decreased, and the apoptosis rate was increased in group O ( P<0.05). Compared with group O, the expression of hsa_circ_0081596 and Fis1 was significantly down-regulated, the cell survival rate was increased and the apoptosis rate was decreased in group S, and the expression of hsa_circ_0081596 and Fis1 was significantly up-regulated, the cell survival rate was decreased and the apoptosis rate was increased in group I ( P>0.05). Conclusion:hsa_circ_0081596 is involved in the pathophysiological mechanism of OGD/R through up-regulating the expression of Fis1 in human neurons.

Analysis of Circular RNAs in the Coronary Arteries of Patients with Kawasaki Disease

ObjectivesKawasaki disease is a disease in children that presents with diverse symptoms including acute fever, conjunctivitis, body rash, swollen lymph nodes of the neck, and peeling of the skin on the hands and feet. Although patients with Kawasaki disease are continually observed and diagnosed, there are no established molecular markers to diagnose this disease quickly and accurately. Moreover, there have been very few studies on the molecular mechanism underlying Kawasaki disease.MethodsThe expression profiles of circular RNAs (circRNAs) from coronary artery tissue of patients with Kawasaki disease were analyzed using public sequencing datasets. After selecting reliable sequencing libraries and high-quality reads, bioinformatics pipelines were applied to quantify the expression of back-splicing reads of host genes.ResultsMany circRNAs were identified to be differentially expressed between the controls and patients with Kawasaki disease. Among them, circRNAs originating from host genes including homeodomain interacting protein kinase 3 (circHIPK3), zinc finger protein 124 (circZNF124), WAS protein homolog associated with actin, Golgi membranes, and microtubules pseudogene 1 (circWHAMMP1), SLAIN motif family, member 2 (circSLAIN2), and ataxia telangiectasia mutated (circATM) were down-regulated significantly in untreated patients with Kawasaki disease. Importantly, the level of these circRNAs returned to normal in the coronary arteries of treated patients, suggesting these circRNAs are possible molecular markers for Kawasaki disease. For circWHAMMP1 and circZNF124, the microRNAs that may be regulated by these circRNAs were also identified.ConclusionsThis study will contribute to future research seeking to determine the regulatory pathways involved in the pathogenesis of Kawasaki disease.