The down-regulation of hsa_circ_0012919, the sponge for <i>miR-125a-3p</i>, contributes to DNA methylation of CD11a and CD70 in CD4+ T cells of systemic lupus erythematous

Abstract

Twelve circRNAs were up-regulated and two circRNAs were down-regulated in SLE patients group after circRNA microarray analysis. Hsa_circ_0012919 was further confirmed to be significantly different between healthy control and SLE patients (<i>P</i><0.05) and associated with SLE characters (<i>P</i><0.05). Down-regulation of hsa_circ_0012919 (i) increased the expression of DNMT1 and reduced the expression of CD70, CD11a, (ii) reversed the DNA hypomethylation of CD11a and CD70 in CD4⁺ T cells of SLE, but it could be reversed by down-regulation of DNMT1. Hsa_circ_0012919 regulated KLF13 and RANTES by <i>miR-125a</i> Conclusion: Hsa_circ_0012919 could be regarded as a biomarker for SLE and hsa_circ_0012919 was the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) for <i>miR-125a-3p</i>.