High-throughput sequencing for lacrimal sacs from chronic dacryocystitis patients and normal controls

We report the application of whole transcriptome sequencing technology for high-throughput profiling of lacrimal sacs from chronic dacryocystitis patients and normal controls. Differently expressed mRNAs and circRNAs were used for co-expression analysis. The expression levels of mRNAs and circRNAs in control and chronic dacryocystitis samples were validated by quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Among all the 3909 circRNAs predicted from RNA sequencing data, 25 circRNAs (20 up regulated and 5 down-regulated) were differentially expressed in chronic dacryocystitis samples. Besides, 1486 differentially expressed mRNAs were identified. This study identified statistically significant differences between circRNAs and mRNAs of lacrimal sac samples of chronic dacryocystitis patients and control individuals. Of these differently expressed circRNAs and mRNAs, eight were validated by qRT-PCR, including MYH2, DSP, CD27, CCL5, FN1, has_circ_0004792, has_circ_0001062 and has_circ_0115476. This study suggested the differentially expressed circRNAs might participate in pathogenesis of chronic dacryocystitis, and it is therefore reasonable to consider circRNAs as potential therapeutic targets in treating chronic dacryocystitis patients.