Abstract
BACKGROUND: The circular RNA (circRNA) plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of tumors as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA). Given the high aggressiveness and fatality rate of glioblastoma (GBM) as well as poor prognosis, it is necessary to construct a circRNA-related ceRNA network for further studies on the mechanism of GBM and identify possible biomarkers as well as therapeutic drugs. METHODS: Three datasets from the gene expression omnibus (GEO) database were downloaded to distinguish differential circRNAs, microRNAs, and messenger RNAs respectively in GBM. With the help of GEPIA2, circBank, CSCD, TargetScan, miRDB, and miRTarBase databases, we established a circRNAs-related ceRNA network in GBM. Functional enrichments were employed to profile the most relevant mRNAs to indirectly clarify the mechanisms of the ceRNA network. Based on the expression profile data and survival information of GBM patients from the GEO and the cancer genome atlas (TCGA) databases, we performed survival analysis to select prognostic mRNAs and constructed a novel circRNA-miRNA-mRNA central regulatory subnetwork. The DGIdb database was used to find potential drug-gene interactions. RESULTS: The datasets obtained from the GEO and TCGA databases were analyzed, and 504 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), 71 differentially expressed microRNAs (DEmiRNAs), and 270 differentially expressed circRNAs (DEcircRNAs) were screened out. The novel ceRNA regulatory network included 22 circRNAs, 11 miRNAs, and 15 mRNAs. FZD1 and KLF10 were significantly correlated with the overall survival rate of patients with GBM (P < 0.05). The final survival subnetwork contained six circRNAs, two miRNAs, and two mRNAs. Two small-molecule compounds and one antibody could be used as therapeutic drugs for GBM. Interestingly, the Wnt signaling pathway appeared in both KEGG and GO functional terms. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study demonstrate that FZD1 and KLF10 may exert regulatory functions in GBM, and the ceRNA-mediated network could be a therapeutic strategy for GBM.