LncRNA/miRNA/mRNA ceRNA network analysis in spinal cord injury rat with physical exercise therapy

PeerJ. 2022 Jul 29:10:e13783. doi: 10.7717/peerj.13783. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Noncoding RNAs have been implicated in the pathophysiology of spinal cord injury (SCI), including cell death, glial scar formation, axonal collapse and demyelination, and inflammation. The evidence suggests that exercise therapy is just as effective as medical treatment in SCI. However, studies of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA)-mediated regulation mechanisms in the therapy of SCI with exercise are rare. The focus of this research was to investigate the effect of exercise therapy on the expression levels of long noncoding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and mRNA in rats with SCI. The RNA-seq technology has been used to examine the differentially expressed circRNAs (DECs), lncRNAs (DELs), miRNAs (DEMs), and genes (DEGs) between SCI and exercise therapy rats. The ceRNA network was established using interactions between miRNAs and mRNAs, as well as between miRNAs and lncRNAs/circRNAs. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery was used to anticipate the underlying functions of mRNAs. Our current study identified 76 DELs, 33 DEMs, and 30 DEGs between groups of SCI rats and exercise therapy rats. Subsequently, these newly discovered ceRNA interaction axes could be important targets for the exercise treatment of SCI.

Keywords: Competing endogenous RNA; Long noncoding RNA; Nucleus pulposus; Spinal cord injury; microRNA.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Exercise Therapy*
  • Gene Regulatory Networks
  • MicroRNAs* / genetics
  • RNA, Circular
  • RNA, Long Noncoding* / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger* / genetics
  • Rats
  • Spinal Cord Injuries* / genetics
  • Spinal Cord Injuries* / therapy

Substances

  • MicroRNAs
  • RNA, Circular
  • RNA, Long Noncoding
  • RNA, Messenger

Grants and funding

This study was supported with grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82072536), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20191182), the Science and Technology Plan Project of Suzhou (SYS2019016), and the Medical and Health Science Project of Suzhou New District (2018Z008). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.