Comprehensive Dissection of CircRNA-Associated-ceRNA Networks in Cardiac Transplant Rejection Immunity

Transplant rejection is a major factor limiting allograft survival. CircRNAs are reported to be strongly associated with various diseases pathogenesis. However, the potential role of circRNAs in cardiac transplant rejection are rarely reported. Here, differentially expressed mRNAs and circRNAs were determined by microarrays in allogeneic cardiac allografts. Functional analysis was then performed and a full-scale functional blueprint of the circRNA-associated-ceRNA networks was constructed. Among the circRNA networks, circ23123 expression was negatively linked with cytolytic molecules of CD8+ T cells by targeting miR155-SOCS1 axis. We illustrated a new comprehensive view of circRNAs and their potential functional impact in cardiac transplantation. It may provide a prospective for therapeutic strategy on organ transplant rejection in the future. For mRNA microarrays, total RNA from each sample was linearly amplified and labeled with Cy3-UTP. The Labeled cRNAs were purified by RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen). The concentration and specific activity of the labeled cRNAs (pmol Cy3/μg cRNA) were measured by NanoDrop ND-1000. Sample labeling and array hybridization were performed according to the Agilent One-Color Microarray-Based Gene Expression Analysis protocol (Agilent Technology). The microarray was to confirm the differentially expressed mRNAs in three pairs of heart grafts, comparing cardiac allograft mice and syngraft mice.