AUTHOR=Gray Lachlan G. , Mills James D. , Curry-Hyde Ashton , Devore Sasha , Friedman Daniel , Thom Maria , Scott Catherine , Thijs Roland D. , Aronica Eleonora , Devinsky Orrin , Janitz Michael TITLE=Identification of Specific Circular RNA Expression Patterns and MicroRNA Interaction Networks in Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics VOLUME=11 YEAR=2020 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2020.564301 DOI=10.3389/fgene.2020.564301 ISSN=1664-8021 ABSTRACT=

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) regulate mRNA translation by binding to microRNAs (miRNAs), and their expression is altered in diverse disorders, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Here, we compare circRNA expression patterns in the temporal cortex and hippocampus of patients with pharmacoresistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) and healthy controls. Nine circRNAs showed significant differential expression, including circRNA-HOMER1, which is expressed in synapses. Further, we identified miRNA binding sites within the sequences of differentially expressed (DE) circRNAs; expression levels of mRNAs correlated with changes in complementary miRNAs. Gene set enrichment analysis of mRNA targets revealed functions in heterocyclic compound binding, regulation of transcription, and signal transduction, which maintain the structure and function of hippocampal neurons. The circRNA–miRNA–mRNA interaction networks illuminate the molecular changes in MTLE, which may be pathogenic or an effect of the disease or treatments and suggests that DE circRNAs and associated miRNAs may be novel therapeutic targets.