Expression and mechanisms of hsa_circ_087631 in patients with primary biliary cholangitis

AIM To explore the expression and mechanisms of circular RNA hsa_circ_087631 in the patients with primary biliary cholangitis （PBC）. METHODS RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression of hsa_circ_087631 in PBC patients and healthy controls. Hsa-miR-346-overexpressing lentiviral vector pLenti-EF1a-EGFP-F2A-Puro-CMV-MCS was constructed and transfected into human acute T cell leukemia Jurkat cells， and then the expression levels of hsa_circ_087631， Bcl-6 mRNA and interleukin-21 （IL-21） mRNA were detected by RT-qPCR. Dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to identify the interactions between hsa_circ_087631 and hsa-miR-346. RESULTS The expression of hsa_circ_087631 in the PBC patients was significantly increased compared with the healthy subjects. Hsa-miR-346-overexpressing lentiviral vector pLenti-EF1a-EGFP-F2A-Puro-CMV-MCS was successfully constructed. The expression of hsa-miR-346 was significantly increased after the hsa-miR-346-overexpressing lentiviral vector was transfected into the Jurkat cells， while the expression levels of hsa_circ_0087631， Bcl-6 mRNA and IL-21 mRNA were significantly decreased. After wild-type or mutant hsa_circ_087631 vector and hsa-miR-346 mimics were transfected into 293T cells， the results of dual-luciferase reporter assay showed that hsa-miR-346 significantly decreased the luciferase activity of wild-type hsa_circ_087631 （P<0.01）， but the regulation did not change significantly after mutation of the predicted binding site. CONCLUSION Peripheral blood hsa_circ_087631 level is elevated in the PBC patients. The hsa_circ_087631/hsa-miR-346/Bcl-6 signaling may take effect in human T cells. Hsa-miR-346 significantly reduces the expression of hsa_circ_087631， but it may not be regulated by predicted binding sites.