Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (
COPD), which is a common respiratory disorder with high morbidity and mortality globally, has a complex pathogenesis that is not fully understood. Some
circular RNAs (
circRNAs) have been recognized to serve as
miRNA sponges for regulating target
RNA transcripts during the processes of human diseases. In the present study, we aimed to investigate novel
circRNA-associated
biomarkers for
COPD, 245 differentially expressed
circRNAs were identified, including 111 up-regulated and 134 down-regulated
circRNAs. These candidate
circRNAs were enriched in
inflammation-associated pathways (such as mTOR, B-cell receptor, and NF-κB signaling pathways) via Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment analyses. A combination of two
circRNAs (up-regulated hsa_circ_0067209 and down-regulated hsa_circ_0000673) demonstrated good diagnostic value (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 0.866) for
COPD by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis and qRT-PCR validation. Subsequently, hsa-miR-8082 and hsa-miR-1248 were identified as targets for hsa_circ_0067209 and hsa_circ_0000673, respectively, via bioinformatics analysis and a dual-
luciferase reporter assay, and the combination of these two
miRNAs displayed better diagnosis potential for
COPD (AUC = 0.967) than each other. Evaluation of
COPD-related
mRNA profiles revealed that the up-regulated genes ABR and TRPM6 were predicted downstream targets for hsa_circ_0067209/hsa-miR-8082, whereas the down-regulated gene RORC was a predicted downstream target for hsa_circ_0000673/hsa-miR-1248. In summary, hsa_circ_0067209 and hsa_circ_0000673 have potential as novel diagnostic
biomarkers of
COPD. In addition,
competing endogenous RNA networks of hsa_circ_0067209/hsa-miR-8082/ABR/TRPM6 and hsa_circ_0000673/hsa-miR-1248/RORC may play critical regulation roles for
COPD pathogenesis.