This study aimed to explore the implication of
circular RNA (
circRNA) expression profiles in
spinal cord injury (SCI) rats at the immediate phase.
CircRNA expression profiles in spinal cord samples from five SCI rats at the immediate phase (2 h post SCI) and five
sham control (Ctrl) rats were assessed by microarray analysis. Subsequently, ten candidate
circRNAs (obtained from microarray analysis) were validated in ten SCI rats at the immediate phase and ten Ctrl rats by the reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). PCA plots and heatmap analyses revealed that
circRNA expression profiles could distinguish SCI rats at the immediate phase from Ctrl rats. Furthermore, 1101
circRNAs were upregulated and 897
circRNAs were downregulated in SCI rats at the immediate phase compared with Ctrl rats. These dysregulated
circRNAs distributed on all chromosomes, and most of them located on chromosome 1-10. As for
circRNA types, most of these dysregulated
circRNAs were exonic. Additionally, enrichment analyses displayed that these dysregulated
circRNAs were enriched in multiple signaling pathways related to neuronal signal transduction, immunity, and
inflammation, such as the calcium signaling pathway, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, and MAPK signaling pathway. Using RT-qPCR, eight out of ten candidate
circRNAs (including rno_
circRNA_011690, rno_
circRNA_011494, rno_
circRNA_005470, rno_
circRNA_014301, rno_
circRNA_009608, rno_
circRNA_016031, rno_
circRNA_011497, and rno_
circRNA_015152) were dysregulated in SCI rats at the immediate phase compared with Ctrl rats. Our study provides a valuable reference for
circRNA expression profiles in SCI rats at the immediate phase, which offers new clues for investigating mechanisms underlying the immediate phase and possible early intervention targets of SCI.