Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Suzhou Dushu Lake Hospital, Suzhou, Jiangsu, People's Republic of China.
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2024 Mar 20;19:789-797. doi: 10.2147/COPD.S448759. eCollection 2024.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are newly identified endogenous non-coding RNAs that function as crucial gene modulators in the development of several diseases. By assessing the expression levels of circRNAs in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), this study attempted to find new biomarkers for COPD screening.
We confirmed altered circRNA expression in PBMCs of COPD (n=41) vs controls (n=29). Further analysis focused on the highest and lowest circRNA expression levels. The -test is used to assess the statistical variances in circRNAs among COPD patients in the smoking and non-smoking cohorts. Additionally, among smokers, the Spearman correlation test assesses the association between circRNAs and clinical indicators.
Two circRNAs, hsa_circ_0042590 and hsa_circ_0049875, that were highly upregulated and downregulated in PBMCs from COPD patients were identified and verified. Smokers with COPD had lower hsa_circ_0042590 and higher hsa_circ_0049875, in comparison to non-smokers. There was a significant correlation (r=0.52, P<0.01) between the number of acute exacerbations (AEs) that smokers with COPD experienced in the previous year and the following year (r=0.67, P<0.001). Moreover, hsa_circ_0049875 was connected to the quantity of AEs in the year prior (r=0.68, P<0.0001) as well as the year after (r=0.72, P<0.0001). AUC: 0.79, 95% CI: 0.1210-0.3209, P<0.0001) for hsa_circ_0049875 showed a strong diagnostic value for COPD, according to ROC curve analysis. Hsa_circ_0042590 showed a close second with an AUC of 0.83 and 95% CI: -0.1972--0.0739 (P <0.0001).
This research identified a strong correlation between smoking and hsa_circ_0049875 and hsa_circ_0042590 in COPD PBMCs. The number of AEs in the preceding and succeeding years was substantially linked with the existence of hsa_circ_0042590 and hsa_circ_0049875 in COPD patients who smoke. Additionally, according to our research, hsa_circ_0049875 and hsa_circ_0042590 may be valuable biomarkers for COPD diagnosis.
环状 RNA（circRNAs）是新发现的内源性非编码 RNA，在多种疾病的发展过程中作为关键的基因调节剂发挥作用。通过评估慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）患者外周血单核细胞（PBMC）中 circRNAs 的表达水平，本研究试图寻找 COPD 筛查的新生物标志物。
我们在 COPD（n=41）与对照组（n=29）的 PBMC 中证实了 circRNA 表达的改变。进一步的分析集中在 circRNA 表达水平最高和最低的两个方面。使用 t 检验评估 COPD 患者吸烟和非吸烟队列中 circRNAs 的统计方差。此外，在吸烟者中，Spearman 相关检验评估 circRNAs 与临床指标之间的相关性。
鉴定并验证了在 COPD 患者 PBMC 中高度上调和下调的两个 circRNAs，hsa_circ_0042590 和 hsa_circ_0049875。与不吸烟者相比，COPD 吸烟者的 hsa_circ_0042590 水平较低，hsa_circ_0049875 水平较高。COPD 吸烟者在前一年和下一年经历的急性加重（AE）次数之间存在显著相关性（r=0.52，P<0.01；r=0.67，P<0.001）。此外，hsa_circ_0049875 与前一年（r=0.68，P<0.0001）和后一年（r=0.72，P<0.0001）的 AE 数量相关。ROC 曲线分析显示，hsa_circ_0049875 的 AUC：0.79，95%CI：0.1210-0.3209，P<0.0001）对 COPD 具有很强的诊断价值。hsa_circ_0042590 的 AUC 为 0.83，95%CI：-0.1972--0.0739（P <0.0001），接近第二位。
本研究在 COPD 的 PBMC 中发现了吸烟与 hsa_circ_0049875 和 hsa_circ_0042590 之间的强烈相关性。在 COPD 吸烟者中，前一年和后一年的 AE 数量与 hsa_circ_0042590 和 hsa_circ_0049875 的存在有显著关联。此外，根据我们的研究，hsa_circ_0049875 和 hsa_circ_0042590 可能是 COPD 诊断的有价值的生物标志物。
