Construction of competitive endogenous RNA network and identification of potential regulatory axis in vascular calcification

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Abstract Competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNA) theory has been proved in numerous biological processes. Nevertheless, there is a lack of research applying the ceRNA theory to the study of vascular calcification (VC) in chronic kidney diseases (CKD). In the present study, a ceRNA network was constructed after conducting transcriptome sequencing of differentially expressed genes, followed by experimental validation to identify a new target for the diagnosis and treatment of vascular calcification. Total RNA was extracted from β‐glycerophosphate (β‐GP) cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) on Day 7. Illumina HiSeq platform was utilized to build sequencing libraries. GO and KEGG analysis was conducted to identify the function of the differentially expressed genes. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING) database. A ceRNA network was established based on TargetScan, miRDB, miRWALK, and miRanda database. Western blot and qRT‐PCR were used to explore the expression level of protein and RNA, respectively. The direct binding sites were confirmed by dual‐luciferase reporter assay. In total, 647 differentially expressed lncRNAs and 289 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified (|log 2 FC| ≥ 1, p < .05). The function of differentially expressed mRNAs was mainly enriched in negative regulation of osteoblast differentiation, regulation of RNA metabolic process, and other typical pathways. The ceRNA network was generated with a total of 107 interaction pairs. The lncRNA Prrc2c/miR‐145‐5p/Smad3 axis was considered a potential regulatory pathway within the ceRNA network. The regulatory relationship and targets of this ceRNA axis were validated via in vitro experiments. For the first time, we found that lncRNA Prrc2c was highly expressed and promoted calcification of VSMCs. Luciferase reporter assay showed that lncRNA Prrc2c could bind miR‐145‐5p at site 1755–1761. Similarly, luciferase reporter assay showed that miR‐145‐5p inhibited Smad3 expression by binding to its 3′UTR. Our findings provide a comprehensive examination of the ceRNA networks in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) treated with high phosphorate. Specifically, we have identified the role of lncRNA Prrc2c in promoting VSMC calcification through the miR‐145‐5p/Smad3 axis.

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