Expression Profile Analysis of Circular RNAs in Ovarian Endometriosis by Microarray and Bioinformatics

Mengmeng Zhang, Chutong Ren, Yinan Xiao, Xiaomeng Xia, Xiaoling Fang
Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2018 · vol. 24 , pp. 9240–9250 · doi:10.12659/msm.913885 · PMID:30566420 · PMC6320645 · W2905024887
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 18 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 ⓘ

This study analyzed circular RNA expression in ovarian endometriosis, identifying 8 differentially expressed circRNAs, including two downregulated candidates, circ_103470 and circ_101102, potentially involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition via miR-141-5p.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-10 · read from full text ⓘ

This study profiled circular RNA (circRNA) expression in ovarian endometriosis by comparing ectopic endometrial tissue and paired eutopic endometrium from 20 patients, with normal endometrium from 4 women without endometriosis, using circRNA microarray followed by qRT-PCR validation of selected circRNAs. The authors identified 2237 circRNAs with differential expression and highlighted 8 circRNAs potentially involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition, with circ_103470 and circ_101102 showing qRT-PCR agreement with microarray results. Bioinformatics analyses using predicted circRNA–miRNA–mRNA competing endogenous RNA networks and pathway enrichment implicated 17 pathways, including mTOR, Hippo, and HIF-1 signaling, with a proposed role for two downregulated circRNAs regulating epithelial-mesenchymal transition via miR-141-5p. The study’s primary limitation is its small control sample size (n=4) relative to the patient group (n=20). This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it analyzes circRNA expression and associated ceRNA/pathway signatures in ovarian endometriosis tissues.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disorder with enigmatic etiopathogenesis and is characterized by tumor-like biological behaviors. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have attracted considerable attention because they exert very important functions in the progression of human cancers. However, little is known about the functions and molecular mechanism of circRNAs in endometriosis. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 20 patients with ovarian endometriosis and 4 normal endometrium from women free of endometriosis were included in this study. Ectopic endometrium tissues and paired eutopic endometrium tissues were collected from ovarian endometriosis patients. We assessed the expression profiles of circRNAs in endometriosis by microarray analysis. Expression of selected circRNAs in those tissues was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Based on the target prediction, we constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and elucidated circRNAs through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology analyses. RESULTS We detected 2237 circRNAs, differentially expressed among 3 groups, and then found 8 circRNAs that may be involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process. The qRT-PCR validation suggested that circ_103470 and circ_101102 matched the microarray results. The functional analysis revealed 17 pathways, such as the mTOR signaling pathway, the Hippo signaling pathway, and the HIF-1 signaling pathway, which may be associated with the pathogenesis and development of endometriosis. CONCLUSIONS In general, our results suggest that 2 downregulated circRNAs (circ_103470 and circ_101102) may regulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition in endometriosis via miR-141-5p, which may be a promising therapeutic target in the future.
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a common gynecologic disorder with enigmatic etiopathogenesis and is characterized by tumor-like biological behaviors. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have attracted considerable attention because they exert very important functions in the progression of human cancers. However, little is known about the functions and molecular mechanism of circRNAs in endometriosis.

Material and methods

A total of 20 patients with ovarian endometriosis and 4 normal endometrium from women free of endometriosis were included in this study. Ectopic endometrium tissues and paired eutopic endometrium tissues were collected from ovarian endometriosis patients. We assessed the expression profiles of circRNAs in endometriosis by microarray analysis. Expression of selected circRNAs in those tissues was detected by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Based on the target prediction, we constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network and elucidated circRNAs through Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and Gene Ontology analyses.

Results

We detected 2237 circRNAs, differentially expressed among 3 groups, and then found 8 circRNAs that may be involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition process. The qRT-PCR validation suggested that circ_103470 and circ_101102 matched the microarray results. The functional analysis revealed 17 pathways, such as the mTOR signaling pathway, the Hippo signaling pathway, and the HIF-1 signaling pathway, which may be associated with the pathogenesis and development of endometriosis.

Conclusions

In general, our results suggest that 2 downregulated circRNAs (circ_103470 and circ_101102) may regulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition in endometriosis via miR-141-5p, which may be a promising therapeutic target in the future.

Keywords

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Condition tags

endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometriosis RNA China Computational Biology Down-Regulation Endometriosis Endometrium Endometrium Female Humans Microarray Analysis MicroRNAs MicroRNAs Ovary Ovary Phylogeny Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction RNA RNA, Circular RNA, Messenger

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