Comprehensive Expression Profiles of mRNAs, LncRNAs, and CircRNAs in the Colon Specimens of Patients with Slow Transit Constipation

Slow transit constipation (STC) is a complication of depression that can negatively impact patient prognosis and quality of life. Nonetheless, the pathogenesis of STC is unclear. In this work, colon tissues from STC and non-STC patients were utilized to determine transcriptome expression patterns (messenger ribonucleic acids [mRNAs], Long noncoding RNAs [lncRNAs], and Circular RNAs [circRNAs]) via high-throughput sequencing. We found that 4430 mRNAs, 984 lncRNAs, and 2152 circRNAs exhibited substantial variations in expression patterns in the colon tissues of STC and non-STC patients. Next, we constructed a protein-protein interaction network and identified three significant elements, namely, POLR2B, SRSF1, and SUMO1, which attracted our interest. Utilizing the data of 6 upregulated circRNAs and 10 downregulated circRNAs, we created a competing endogenous RNA network. Subsequently, we found that hsa_circ_0000994 and hsa_circ_0008699 were significantly enriched in the upregulated and downregulated networks, respectively. The coexpression network analysis suggested that circRNAs and lncRNAs might exert control over mRNAs by influencing the neural functions of STC. According to the results of the integrated circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, circRNA-regulated mRNAs were linked to both the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) and Notch signaling pathways. Our findings could provide new perspectives for identifying potential prognostic markers in STC. Targeting SUMO1 may present a promising approach to address colonic motility disorders in STC therapy.