The profile analysis of circular RNAs in cervical cancer

Cervical cancer (CC) is the third most common cancer among women and has a high mortality rate at the advanced stage. The mechanisms underlying the development and progression of CC are still elusive. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play an important role in various physiological and pathological processes. The aim of this study was to identify the circRNAs significantly associated with cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), in order to discover novel diagnostic markers and elucidate their mechanistic basis.The circRNA expression profiles of CSCC and paired para-cancerous cervical tissues was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus. Bioinformatics analysis were used to screen for the differentially expressed circRNAs (DECRs). The expression levels of hsa_circ_0000745, hsa_circ_0084927, hsa_circ_0002762, hsa_circ_0075341, hsa_circ_0007905, hsa_circ_0031027, hsa_circ_0065898, hsa_circ_0070190, and hsa_circ_0078383 were verified in CC and normal cervical tissues by quantitative real-time PCR.A total of 197 DECRs were identified between the CSCC and normal tissues, including 87 upregulated and 110 downregulated circRNAs. In addition, 37 miRNAs were predicted for the upregulated circRNAs and 39 for the downregulated circRNAs. Functional analysis showed that the DECRs were associated with positive regulation of substrate adhesion-dependent cell spreading, metabolism, positive regulation of GTPase activity, protein regulation, and intercellular adhesion. The MAPK signaling pathway that plays a significant role in the progression of CC, was also enriched. Consistent with the in-silico analysis, hsa_circ_0000745, hsa_circ_0084927, hsa_circ_0002762, hsa_circ_0007905 were upregulated and hsa_circ_0078383 was downregulated in CC tissues (P < .001), whereas hsa_circ_0075341 (P < .001) and hsa_circ_0031027 (P = .001) showed opposite trends.We identified novel diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers of CSCC along with the mechanistic basis.

Current Understanding of Circular RNAs in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a common and potentially fatal autoimmune disease that affects multiple organs. To date, its etiology and pathogenesis remains elusive. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of endogenous non-coding RNAs with covalently closed loop structure. Growing evidence has demonstrated that circRNAs may play an essential role in regulation of gene expression and transcription by acting as microRNA (miRNA) sponges, impacting cell survival and proliferation by interacting with RNA binding proteins (RBPs), and strengthening mRNA stability by forming RNA-protein complexes duplex structures. The expression patterns of circRNAs exhibit tissue-specific and pathogenesis-related manner. CircRNAs have implicated in the development of multiple autoimmune diseases, including SLE. In this review, we summarize the characteristics, biogenesis, and potential functions of circRNAs, its impact on immune responses and highlight current understanding of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of SLE.

On the persistence of memory: soft clocks and terrestrial biosphere-atmosphere interactions

The circadian clock is considered a central "orchestrator" of gene expression and metabolism. Concomitantly, the circadian clock is considered of negligible influence in the field and beyond leaf levels, where direct physiological responses to environmental cues are considered the main drivers of diel fluctuations. I propose to bridge the gap across scales by examining current evidence on whether circadian rhythmicity in gas exchange is relevant for field settings and at the ecosystem scale. Nocturnal stomatal conductance and water fluxes appear to be influenced by a "hard" clock that may override the direct physiological responses to the environment. Tests on potential clock controls over photosynthetic carbon assimilation and daytime transpiration are scant yet, if present, could have a large impact on our current understanding and modeling of the exchanges of carbon dioxide and water between terrestrial ecosystems and the atmosphere.