Circular RNA circSVIL Promotes Myoblast Proliferation and Differentiation by Sponging miR-203 in Chicken

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs), expressed abundantly and universally in various eukaryotes, are involved in growth and development of animals. Our previous study on circRNA sequencing revealed that <i>circSVIL</i>, an exonic circular, expressed differentially among skeletal muscle at 11 embryo age (E11), 16 embryo age (E16), and 1 day post-hatch (P1). In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of <i>circSVIL</i> on the development of skeletal muscle. We detected the expression level of <i>circSVIL</i> in embryonic leg muscle during E10 to P1. As a result, we found that <i>circSVIL</i> had a high expression level during late embryonic development of skeletal muscle. Through dual-luciferase assay, RNA immunoprecipitation and biotin-coupled miRNA pull down, we found chicken <i>circSVIL</i> could functions as miR-203 sponges and upregulated the mRNA level of <i>c-JUN</i> and <i>MEF2C</i>. In chicken, <i>circSVIL</i> could promote the proliferation and differentiation of myoblast, and antagonize the functions of miR-203. Altogether our data suggest that <i>circSVIL</i> promotes the embryonic skeletal muscle development by sequestering miR-203 in chicken.