Cell Type-Selective Expression of Circular RNAs in Human Pancreatic Islets

oleh: Simranjeet Kaur, Aashiq H. Mirza, Flemming Pociot

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2018-11-01

Deskripsi

Understanding distinct cell-type specific gene expression in human pancreatic islets is important for developing islet regeneration strategies and therapies to improve &#946;-cell function in type 1 diabetes (T1D). While numerous transcriptome-wide studies on human islet cell-types have focused on protein-coding genes, the non-coding repertoire, such as long non-coding RNA, including circular RNAs, remains mostly unexplored. Here, we explored transcriptional landscape of human &#945;-, &#946;-, and exocrine cells from published total RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) datasets to identify circular RNAs (circRNAs). Our analysis revealed that circRNAs are highly abundant in both &#945;- and &#946;-cells. We identified 10,830 high-confidence circRNAs expressed in human &#945;-, &#946;-, and exocrine cells. The most highly expressed candidates were <i>MAN1A2</i>, <i>RMST</i>, and <i>HIPK3</i> across the three cell-types. Alternate circular isoforms were observed for circRNAs in the three cell-types, indicative of potential distinct functions. Highly selective &#945;- and &#946;-cell circRNAs were identified, which is suggestive of their potential role in regulating &#946;-cell function.