CircRNA circFADS2 is under-expressed in sepsis and protects lung cells from LPS-induced apoptosis by downregulating miR-133a

It has been reported that hsa_circRNA_100833 (identified as circFADS2) and miR-133a play opposite roles in LPS-induced cell apoptosis, which contributes to the development of sepsis. This study was carried out to explore the interaction between circFADS2 and miR-133a in sepsis.

CircFADS2 is under-expressed in sepsis and may protect lung cells from LPS-induced apoptosis by downregulating miR-133a.

Expression of circFADS2 and miR-133a in plasma from both sepsis patients (n=62) and healthy controls (n=62) was studied by RT-qPCR. Pearson's correlation coefficient analysis was utilized to analyze the correlation between circFADS2 and miR-133a levels across plasma samples from sepsis patients. Cell viability and apoptosis, levels of proteins associated with apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-9), and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in LPS-treated HBEpCs were detected by MTT assay, cell apoptosis assay, western blot, and ELISA, respectively. In addition, a dual-luciferase reporter assay was performed to verify the interaction between circFADS2 and miR-133a.

CircFADS2 was under-expressed (0.56-fold vs. control) in sepsis, and miR-133a was highly expressed (2.05-fold vs. control) in sepsis. An inverse correlation between circFADS2 and miR-133a was observed across sepsis samples. LPS decreased cell viability, increased cell apoptosis, and elevated productions of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukins (IL)-1β, IL-6, and IL-8 in HBEpCs in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, circFADS2 was identified as a target gene of miR-133a. The further experiment revealed that circFADS2 overexpression and miR-133a inhibition prominently promoted cell viability (1.71-fold vs. pcDNA3.1; 1.65-fold vs. NC miRNA) and decreased apoptosis of LPS-treated HBEpCs (0.44-fold vs. pcDNA3.1; 0.47-fold vs. NC miRNA). Moreover, circFADS2 knockdown and miR-133a overexpression inhibited viability (0.36-fold vs. pcDNA3.1; 0.37-fold vs. NC miRNA) and increased apoptosis (1.54-fold vs. pcDNA3.1; 1.51-fold vs. NC miRNA) of LPS-treated HBEpCs. Notably, circFADS2 overexpression reduced the effects of miR-133a on LPS-treated HBEpCs. Conclusions: CircFADS2 is under-expressed in sepsis and may protect lung cells from LPS-induced apoptosis by downregulating miR-133a.