Identification and functional analysis of a potential key circRNA in aged mice with perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction

Perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction (PND) is emerging as a significant complication of surgery in elderly patients. However, the molecular mechanisms of PND are not well known. Here we applied microarray analysis to identify circular RNAs (circRNAs) in hippocampus from a mouse model of PND and control mice. Then, the dysregulated circRNAs were confirmed via quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Then, Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed to probe the vital functions of dysregulated genes. We randomly selected 6 C57 male mice (age 18 months) and divided them into two groups: control group (n=3) and surgery group (n=3). The surgical procedures of intramedullary fixation for open tibial fracture were performed to simulate a mouse model of POCD. The hippocampal tissues of the surgery and control group mice were harvested on day 3 after the surgery for RNA extraction and hybridization. The RNA labeling and array hybridization were performed by KangChen Bio-tech, Shanghai, PR China.

围手术期神经认知功能障碍（Perioperative neurocognitive dysfunction, PND）正逐渐成为老年患者手术相关的重要并发症。然而，目前PND的分子机制尚未完全阐明。本研究采用基因芯片分析，在围手术期神经认知功能障碍小鼠模型及对照小鼠的海马组织中筛选环形RNA（circular RNAs, circRNAs）；随后通过实时荧光定量聚合酶链反应（quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, qRT-PCR）对差异表达的circRNAs进行验证，并开展基因本体论（Gene Ontology, GO）及京都基因与基因组百科全书（Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, KEGG）通路富集分析，以探究差异表达基因的关键生物学功能。本研究随机选取6只18月龄的雄性C57小鼠，将其分为两组：对照组（n=3）与手术组（n=3）；通过实施胫骨开放性骨折髓内固定术构建术后认知功能障碍（Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction, POCD）小鼠模型，并于术后第3天采集两组小鼠的海马组织用于RNA提取及芯片杂交。RNA标记与芯片杂交实验由中国上海康成生物（KangChen Bio-tech）完成。