Potential functions of circular RNAs in the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose- derived stem cells

Abstract

Abstract Background The differential expression of circular RNAs (circRNAs) with potential functions during the osteogenic differentiation of human adipose-derived stem cells (hADSCs) was investigated.Methods Three groups of hADSCs and cells after 14 d of osteogenic differentiation were studied. Differentially expressed circRNAs before and after the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs were screened using circRNA high-throughput sequencing technology. The potential functions and targets of the differentially expressed circRNAs were analysed using bioinformatics (Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and prediction of circRNA–miRNA–mRNA relationships).Results A total of 8732 differentially expressed circRNAs with 2-fold changes in expression between before and after the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs, including 2905 upregulated circRNAs and 5827 downregulated circRNAs, were identified. GO and KEGG analyses showed that some target genes of the differentially expressed circRNAs were associated with biological functions and biological pathways involved in osteogenic differentiation. Construction of the circRNA–miRNA–mRNA regulatory network showed that many miRNAs and mRNAs could be regulated by the same circRNA through different signalling pathways.Conclusions The circRNA expression profile changed significantly during the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs. Some differentially expressed circRNAs might competitively bind to miRNAs to inhibit their binding to mRNAs and thus regulate the osteogenic differentiation of hADSCs.