CircRNA profiling in laminar shear stress-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Laminar shear stress (LSS) suppresses endothelial inflammation and protects the arteries from atherosclerosis. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are powerful regulators of vascular homeostasis and atherosclerosis; however, their roles in mediating the effects of LSS remain unexplored. To identify the changes in circRNA expression patterns after shear stress stimulation, we conducted circRNA microarray analysis using RNA extracted from HUVECs cultured for 24 h under static or LSS conditions. Confluent HUVECs cultured on microscope slides were exposed to well-defined laminar flow with a shear stress of 15 dyne/cm2. HUVECs cultured under static conditions were used as the controls. N=3