High-throughput data on circular RNA reveal novel insights into chronic glomerulonephritis.

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a unique novel type of RNA, have been widely reported to be involved in physiologic and pathologic processes in humans. However, the exact molecular pathogenesis of circRNAs in chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) is far from clear.

Objective: This paper aims to evaluate the specific expression profile of circRNAs in renal cortex tissues from Adriamycin-induced CGN rats.

Methods: CircRNAs were screened in renal cortex tissues from 3 CGN rats and 3 control rats by using high-throughput sequencing (HTS). Then, 4 circRNAs were selected randomly for verification by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). In addition, the differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs were analyzed by bioinformatics methods.

Results: In total, 31 significantly DE circRNAs were identified, which revealed their potential roles in CGN; in particular, we found that 4 confirmed altered circRNAs (rno-circ-RNAs 689, 3217, 1327, and 5001) might play important roles in the development of CGN.

Conclusion: This study reveals a cluster of circRNAs that are DE in Adriamycin-induced CGN rats, which brings us closer to understanding the pathogenic mechanisms and may provide new potential targets for clinical treatment.