Expression profile of circRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

In order to identify new biomarkers for the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, we used circRNA microarray technology to screen the differential expression of circRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. We identified a total of 399 differentially expressed circRNAs in RA patients and healthy controls, of which 149 circRNAs were significantly up-regulated in RA patients and 250 were down-regulated. Among them, hsa_circRNA_101328 may be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of RA. We performed microarray analysis on the circRNAs expression profiles in PBMCs of 4 RA patients and 4 healthy controls.Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) was used to verify the differential expression of circRNAs in PBMCs of 20 RA patients,10 systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients and 20 age- and gender-matched controls.