Identification of potential immune-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA regulatory network in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma.

Circulating RNAs (circRNAs) are involved in tumor development and progression by participating in immune regulation. Nevertheless, the circRNAs expression profiles and their roles on the immunomodulatory effects in cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) have rarely been studied. In our study, we identified the differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs), miRNAs (DEmiRNAs), mRNAs (DEmRNAs) in cSCC and established the circRNA competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) network. Subsequently, the hub differentially expressed immune-related genes were identified and validated by immunochemistry as well as the GO and KEGG pathway analysis were performed. 54 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified and hub differentially expressed immune-related genes were identified and they were mostly associated with immune response in the progression of cSCC. Our results indicated that the potential immune-related circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network may assist in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the carcinogenesis and progression in cSCC. Moreover, the immune-related genes may provide an insight into the pathogenesis, molecular biomarkers, and potential therapeutic targets for cSCC patients.