Background: To analyze the expression patterns of circRNAs in metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and the regulation of m6A methylation on those circRNAs.
Methods: The expression profile of CircRNA in MAFLD and normal control liver tissues was analyzed by microarray. Predict the potential m6A sites of the differentially expression circRNAs (DECs) via the SRAMP website. The biological functions and molecular interactions of DECs were analyzed by GO and KEGG analyses. The selected DECs were verified by MeRIP-qPCR and RT-qPCR.
Results: There were 59 DECs in MAFLD liver tissues compared with normal control liver tissues. We found that m6A sites with high or very high confidence were present in 39 of these DECs. Four randomly selected DECs were validated by RT-qPCR, hsa-MLIP_0004, hsa-CHD2_0084 and hsa-FOXP1_0001 matched well with the microarray results. m6A qualification of them were conducted by MeRIP-qPCR, the m6A methylation levels are significantly different between the MAFLD and NC groups.
Conclusion: In MAFLD, the dysregulated expression of circRNAs may be influenced by m6A modifications. This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that m6A-mediated regulation of circRNAs could play a role in the progression of MAFLD, laying the foundation for exploring the epigenetic regulation of circRNAs in MAFLD and offering potential avenues for future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies.
Trial registration: Not applicable.
Keywords: Circular RNA; MAFLD; m6A modification.
© 2025. The Author(s).