Yedi Zhou
Songshan Li
Shigeo Yoshida- 1Department of Ophthalmology, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
- 2Hunan Clinical Research Center of Ophthalmic Disease, Changsha, Hunan, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China
- 4Department of Ophthalmology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
Editorial on the Research Topic
Non-coding RNAs in ophthalmic diseases
With the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatics, a growing number of studies revealed the key roles played by non-coding RNAs in the pathogenesis of ophthalmic diseases. In the current Research Topic, the authors discussed the roles and mechanisms of a variety of non-coding RNAs, including microRNAs (miRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and tRNA-related fragments (tRFs). A range of ophthalmic diseases was discussed in this Research Topic such as proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), retinoblastoma (RB), vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC), uveitis, and thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO).
Through high-throughput sequencing, Li et al. identified differentially expressed exosomal circRNAs, miRNAs, and mRNAs in the serum of PDR patients, in particular, they also proved the pro-angiogenic capability of circFndc3b derived from high-glucose-induced endothelial cells. In a brief research report, Syed et al. identified a total of 51 dysregulated miRNAs in the tears of children with VKC compared with controls. Through target gene prediction of these miRNAs, they also predict the probable involvement of the NF-kappa pathway, the cytokine signaling pathway and Treg cells in the VKC inflammatory regulations. Li et al. conducted a transcriptome analysis using the iris tissues of rats with experimental autoimmune uveitis compared with the control rats. They focused on lncRNA and mRNA expression changes, and recognized that the NOD-like receptor signaling pathway might be involved in the pathogenesis of autoimmune uveitis via bioinformatics analysis. Another article of systemic review by Tang et al. also focused on uveitis, in this study, they summarized the regulatory roles of miRNAs in Th17/Treg homeostasis, which is important in the pathogenesis of autoimmune uveitis. The article by Yue et al. identified the differential expressions of tRFs, a novel type of small non-coding RNAs, in patients with TAO, and also predicted the target genes and their possible functions and involved pathways by bioinformatics analysis.
A review article by Fernandez-Diaz et al. summarized the role played by lncRNAs, circRNAs and miRNAs in the physiopathological process of RB, and these non-coding RNAs can also be considered for application as novel potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets of RB. The review article by Rad et al. described the application potential and advantages of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes along with their ingredients including miRNAs in the therapies of ophthalmic diseases.
Overall, the Research Topic shed light on the importance of non-coding RNAs in a variety of pathogenesis in ophthalmic diseases. These original and review articles indicated that non-coding RNAs, including miRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, and tRFs, may play important roles in regulating cellular processes including gene regulation, pro-angiogenesis, and inflammation, and contribute to the initiation and development of ophthalmic diseases. Further studies should be carried out to deeply understand the specific roles and mechanisms of the dysregulated non-coding RNAs in these ocular diseases. To clarify the molecular regulatory mechanisms, it is also suggested to combine transcriptomics with genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics for multi-omics analysis.
Author contributions
YZ wrote the draft of the Editorial, SL and SY contributed to the revision. All authors co-edited the Research Topic and approved the Editorial for publication.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Publisher’s note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
Keywords: non-coding RNA, ophthalmic disease, microRNA, long non-coding RNA, circular RNA, tRNA-related fragments
Citation: Zhou Y, Li S and Yoshida S (2022) Editorial: Non-coding RNAs in ophthalmic diseases. Front. Genet. 13:1055701. doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.1055701
Received: 28 September 2022; Accepted: 27 October 2022;
Published: 10 November 2022.
Edited by:
William C. Cho, QEH, Hong Kong SAR, ChinaReviewed by:
Bernhard Biersack, University of Bayreuth, GermanyCopyright © 2022 Zhou, Li and Yoshida. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Yedi Zhou, zhouyedi@csu.edu.cn; Songshan Li, lisongshan@gzzoc.com; Shigeo Yoshida, yoshi@med.kurume-u.ac.jp