The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection

ObjectiveChikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne human pathogen, which poses critical threats to the public health. However, an effective diagnostic method for early CHIKV infection remains scarce. Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) are a novel class of RNAs with important biological functio...

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Main Authors: Xue Bai, Hanlin Yan, Guoxia Wen, Shaoxun Yuan, Wanjun Gu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Genetics
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2025.1602177/full
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author Xue Bai
Hanlin Yan
Guoxia Wen
Shaoxun Yuan
Wanjun Gu
Wanjun Gu
Wanjun Gu
author_facet Xue Bai
Hanlin Yan
Guoxia Wen
Shaoxun Yuan
Wanjun Gu
Wanjun Gu
Wanjun Gu
author_sort Xue Bai
collection DOAJ
description ObjectiveChikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne human pathogen, which poses critical threats to the public health. However, an effective diagnostic method for early CHIKV infection remains scarce. Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) are a novel class of RNAs with important biological functions. They have been shown to be promising biomarkers for many human diseases. In this study, we sought to identify circRNA biomarkers in human peripheral whole blood for the early diagnosis of CHIKV infection.DesignCandidate circRNA biomarkers were identified by group comparison using a case-control study, which was further validated using an independent cohort. The performance of this signature and its correlation with clinical factors were estimated in both cohorts.ResultsUsing two public RNA-seq datasets of CHIKV infection, we developed and validated a 13-circRNA based blood signature that can discriminate CHIKV infectious patients from healthy controls. Furthermore, this blood circRNA signature was correlated with viral load in patients with CHIKV infection. Functional analysis implicated that these biomarker circRNAs were involved in the activation and regulation of immune processes against CHIKV infection.ConclusionCollectively, our findings indicated that peripheral blood circRNAs were potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of CHIKV infection.
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issn 1664-8021
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series Frontiers in Genetics
spelling doaj-art-625ba80ab66a4ee2bb51735e4c54ed062025-08-20T02:29:30ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Genetics1664-80212025-04-011610.3389/fgene.2025.16021771602177The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infectionXue Bai0Hanlin Yan1Guoxia Wen2Shaoxun Yuan3Wanjun Gu4Wanjun Gu5Wanjun Gu6School of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaSchool of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaLiangzhu Laboratory, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, ChinaSchool of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaSchool of Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaCollaborative Innovation Center of Jiangsu Province of Cancer Prevention and Treatment of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaJiangsu Province Engineering Research Center of TCM Intelligence Health Service, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, Jiangsu, ChinaObjectiveChikungunya virus (CHIKV) is a re-emerging mosquito-borne human pathogen, which poses critical threats to the public health. However, an effective diagnostic method for early CHIKV infection remains scarce. Circular RNAs (CircRNAs) are a novel class of RNAs with important biological functions. They have been shown to be promising biomarkers for many human diseases. In this study, we sought to identify circRNA biomarkers in human peripheral whole blood for the early diagnosis of CHIKV infection.DesignCandidate circRNA biomarkers were identified by group comparison using a case-control study, which was further validated using an independent cohort. The performance of this signature and its correlation with clinical factors were estimated in both cohorts.ResultsUsing two public RNA-seq datasets of CHIKV infection, we developed and validated a 13-circRNA based blood signature that can discriminate CHIKV infectious patients from healthy controls. Furthermore, this blood circRNA signature was correlated with viral load in patients with CHIKV infection. Functional analysis implicated that these biomarker circRNAs were involved in the activation and regulation of immune processes against CHIKV infection.ConclusionCollectively, our findings indicated that peripheral blood circRNAs were potential biomarkers for the early diagnosis of CHIKV infection.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2025.1602177/fullChikungunya viruscircular RNAperipheral whole blooddiagnostic biomarkerinfectious disease
spellingShingle Xue Bai
Hanlin Yan
Guoxia Wen
Shaoxun Yuan
Wanjun Gu
Wanjun Gu
Wanjun Gu
The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection
Frontiers in Genetics
Chikungunya virus
circular RNA
peripheral whole blood
diagnostic biomarker
infectious disease
title The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection
title_full The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection
title_fullStr The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection
title_full_unstemmed The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection
title_short The identification of a blood circular RNA signature that differentiates Chikungunya virus infection
title_sort identification of a blood circular rna signature that differentiates chikungunya virus infection
topic Chikungunya virus
circular RNA
peripheral whole blood
diagnostic biomarker
infectious disease
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2025.1602177/full
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