Profiling and bioinformatics analysis of differentially expressed circRNAs in endometrium of patients with recurrent implantation failure

Abstract Background. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) play crucial roles in many human diseases. However, the role of circRNA in recurrent implantation failure (RIF) remains unclear. Methods. In order to explore the mechanism of circRNAs in RIF, circRNA expression profiling in endometrial tissue from RIF patients was performed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). The expression of differently expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) was verified using GEO database. Results. Significantly differentially expressed 46 circRNAs were identified (fold change (FC) ≥ 2 and p value < 0.05)and subjected to functional enrichment analysis.Among them, 18 circRNAs were up-regulated and 28 were down-regulated. Moreover, ceRNA network was constructed, which contains 10 circRNAs, 30 miRNAs and 104 mRNAs. Key pathways hsa_circ_0001358-hsa-miR-335-3p-SOSC3/MDM2 and hsa_circ_0072697-hsa-miR-3150a-3p-PFN1 axis were found in the ceRNA network. Conclusions. These two pathways found in the network may provide novel insights to the underlying pathogenesis of RIF and provide new potential molecular targets for subsequent clinical diagnosis and treatment.