CircRNA-mediated ceRNA network: micron-sized quartz silica particles induce apoptosis in primary human airway epithelial cells

This paper studies the toxic effect of micron-sized quartz silica particles on primary human airway epithelial cells (AECs) and the molecular mechanism of its induction of apoptosis. Studies have found that micron-sized quartz silica particles cause AECs damage by activating cell apoptosis. By constructing a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network, it was identified that three circRNAs (hsa_circ_0052203, hsa_circ_0022429, hsa_circ_0052264) and four key miRNAs (hsa-miR-4646-5p, hsa-miR-150-3p, hsa-miR-6798-3p, hsa-miR-6756-5p) play key roles in regulating apoptosis. In addition, seven mRNAs (LMNB1, TP53AIP1, CASP10, BCL2, LMNB2, CFLAR and ITPR1) were significantly associated with the apoptosis. Functional enrichment analysis indicated that these genes were involved in biological processes such as nuclear lysis, hypoxia response and DNA damage. This study has for the first time revealed the role of the ceRNA network in the apoptosis of AECs induced by micron-sized quartz silica particles, providing new molecular targets and therapeutic ideas for the early pathogenesis of silicosis.