Autism is a common disease that seriously affects the quality of life. The role of
circular RNAs (
circRNAs) in
autism remains largely unexplored. We aimed to detect the
circRNA expression profile and construct a
circRNA-based
competing endogenous RNA (
ceRNA) network in
autism.
Valproate acid was used to establish an in vivo model of
autism in mice. A total of 1,059 differentially expressed
circRNAs (477 upregulated and 582 downregulated) in
autism group was identified by
RNA sequencing. The expression of novel_circ_015779 and novel_circ_035247 were detected by real-time PCR. A
ceRNA network based on altered
circRNAs was established, with 9,715 nodes and 150,408 edges. Module analysis was conducted followed by GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis. The top three modules were all correlated with
autism-related pathways involving "
TGF-beta signaling pathway," "Notch signaling pathway," "MAPK signaling pathway," "long term depression," "
thyroid hormone signaling pathway," etc. The present study reveals a novel
circRNA involved mechanisms in the pathogenesis of
autism.