The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objective: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne human pathogen, which poses critical threats to the public health. However, an effective diagnostic method for early CHIKV infection remains scarce. Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) are a novel class of RNAs with important biological functions. They have been shown to be promising biomarkers for many human diseases. In this study, we sought to identify circRNA biomarkers in human peripheral whole blood for the early diagnosis of CHIKV infection. Design: Candidate circRNA biomarkers were identified by group comparison using a case-control study, which was further validated using an independent cohort. The performance of this signature and its correlation with clinical factors were estimated in both cohorts. Results: Using two public RNA-seq datasets of CHIKV infection, we developed and validated a 13-circRNA based blood signature that can discriminate CHIKV infectious patients from healthy controls. Furthermore, this blood circRNA signature was correlated with viral load in patients with CHIKV infection. Functional analysis implicated that these biomarker circRNAs were involved in the activation and regulation of immune processes against CHIKV infection. Conclusion: Collectively, our findings indicated that peripheral blood circRNAs were potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of CHIKV infection.
Source: Frontiers in Genetics
Authors: Xue Bai, Hanlin Yan, Guoxia Wen, Shaoxun Yuan, Wanjun Gu
Institutions: Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Zhejiang University
Language: English
Topic: Circular RNAs in diseases
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,801
OpenAlex ID: W4409958343