Circular RNA <i>Pde4dip</i> regulates myogenesis by interacting with <i>Zfp143</i> mRNA: a novel regulatory axis

Many transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators tightly regulate skeletal muscle myogenesis, including recently discovered circular RNAs (circRNAs). In this study, we used a crosslinking-based sequencing method called CLiPP-Seq, in which we performed AMT-mediated Cross-Linking of RNA-RNA duplexes followed by Poly(A) RNA Pulldown and sequencing to identify mRNA-interacting circRNAs in the mRNA samples of mouse C2C12 myoblasts and myotubes. BLAST analysis of the circRNAs with mRNAs identified their potential interacting partners. Interestingly, silencing of the circular RNA <i>Pde4dip</i> (<i>circPde4dip</i>) altered the target mRNA <i>Zfp143</i> (zinc finger protein 143) expression and suppressed the differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts into myotubes. In summary, we identified unexplored mRNA-interacting circRNAs and their possible functions in muscle cell differentiation, specifically the <i>circPde4dip-Zfp143</i> mRNA interaction regulating myogenesis.