Analysis of Differential Circrnas Expression Profile Identifies Novel Biomarkers for Acute Monocytic Leukemia

Malignant acute monocytic leukemia (AML-M5) is a subtype of AML that is associated with hyperleukocytosis, extramedullary disease, and abnormal coagulation. Accumulating evidence has revealed that aberrant circular RNAs (circRNAs) expression play important roles in carcinogenesis and tumor progression. However, the roles of circRNAs in AML-M5 remains unclear. In this study, next-generation deep sequencing was performed to identify the circRNAs profiles in bone marrow from 6 AML-M5 patients and 3 healthy donors. A total of 78 circRNAs were identified to be associated with AML-M5 carcinogenesis. Two circRNAs (hsa_circ_0100160 and hsa_circ_0012152) were selected for further validation by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in 30 AML patients and healthy control. Both of them were significantly upregulated in AML patients (P < 0.05). The AUC value of ROC curve was 0.934 with sensitivity of 90.9% and specificity of 81.8%, suggesting that hsa_circ_0012152 could distinguish the AML-M5 patients from healthy donors. Bioinformatics analysis predicted that hsa_circ_0012152 interact with hsa-miR-4763-3p and its corresponding mRNAs, which will be our further study. In summary, Our study provides an overview of the circRNA profiles in AML-M5, which will facilitate future investigations into the function of hsa_circ_0012152.