Circular RNA circLOC101928570 Suppress Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Progression Via Targeting the miR-150/c-myb Axis

Abstract Background: Accumulating evidence supports the implication of circRNAs in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). however, little is known about their the detailed mechanisms and the roles of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of SLE.Methods: Quantitative real time-PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to determine the levels of circLOC101928570 and miR-150 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of SLE. Overexpression and knockdown experiments were conducted to assess the effects of circLOC101928570. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), luciferase reporter assays, western blot, flow cytometry analysis and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were used to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the function of circLOC101928570. Results: The results showed that the level of circLOC101928570 was significantly down-regulated in SLE and correlated with systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI). Functionally, circLOC101928570 acted as a miR-150 sponge to relieve the repressive effect on its target c-myb, which modulates the activation of immune inflammatory responses. CircLOC101928570 knockdown enhanced apoptosis. Moreover, circLOC101928570 promote the transcriptional level of IL2RA through directly regulate miR-150/c-myb axis. Conclusion: Overall, our findings demonstrated that circLOC101928570 played a critical role in SLE. The down-expression of circLOC101928570 suppressed SLE progression through miR-150/c-myb/IL2RA axis. Our findings identified that circLOC101928570 serve as a potential biomarker for the diagnosis and therapy of SLE.