Transcriptomic Analysis of Circular RNA as Potential Biomarkers in Diagnosing Atopic Dermatitis

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the functional role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in atopic dermatitis (AD) and discover potential biomarkers for improved diagnosis and treatment. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive analytical study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Jianghan University, Wuhan, China, from June 2023 to February 2025. METHODOLOGY: Peripheral blood specimens were collected from AD patients and healthy controls; RNA sequencing was performed to assess circRNA expression patterns. Hub genes implicated in AD were identified through gene annotation, protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks, Lasso regression, and random forest algorithms. The expression levels of these hub genes were subsequently confirmed using qRT-PCR. RESULTS: A total of 151 differentially expressed circRNAs were identified, among which 37 were associated with AD-related genes. Through bioinformatics analysis, six hub genes (MYD88, SIRT1, RPS3A, DTYMK, DDX49, and SKP1) were identified as being closely related to AD. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that MYD88, SIRT1, RPS3A, DTYMK, DDX49, and SKP1 can act as promising biomarkers for AD. ROC curve analysis underscored their robust diagnostic capabilities, emphasising their potential utility in early AD detection and treatment evaluation. KEY WORDS: Circular RNA, Atopic dermatitis, Lasso regression model, Random forest model.