Analyses of circRNAs and mRNAs profiling in the submandibular gland in hypertension [mRNA]

The aim of this study is to explore the role of circRNAs in the mechanism of submandibular gland (SMG) dysfunction in hypertension. Five male 14-week-old SHRs were purchased from Charles River Laboratories. Five age- and weight-matched WKY rats were used as the control group. The microarray hybridization analyses were performed to determine the circRNAs and mRNAs expression profiles in SMG and were confirmed by qRT-PCR. The bioinformatics analysis including gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway functional enrichment analysis were used to investigate the potential mechanisms. The coding-non-coding co-expression network and competing endogenous RNA network were established.