With their essential regulatory roles in gene expression and high abundance in the brain, circular RNAs (circRNAs) have recently attracted considerable attention. Many studies have shown that circRNAs play important roles in the pathology of CNS diseases, but whether circRNAs participate in E. coli-induced bacterial meningitis is unclear. We used high-throughput sequencing to analyze the transcriptional profiles of host circRNAs in primary brain microvascular endothelial cells in response to meningitic E. coli. A total of 308 circRNAs were significantly altered, including 140 upregulated and 168 downregulated ones (p < 0.05). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and gene ontology enrichment of the parental genes of these altered circRNAs indicated that they are likely to be involved in diverse biological processes via influencing the expression of their parental genes. Coupled with our previous mRNA and microRNA sequencing data, a competing endogenous RNA analysis was performed, and the potential regulatory network was preliminarily constructed and validated. By revealing the transcriptional profiles of the host circRNAs involved in E. coli meningitis, it is envisaged that the novel insight gained into the regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs in the development of bacterial meningitis will lead to better understanding of how to prevent and treat bacterial CNS infections.

环状RNA（circRNA）由于在基因表达和大脑中的高丰度中起着重要的调节作用，因此最近引起了极大的关注。许多研究表明，circRNAs在中枢神经系统疾病的病理中起重要作用，但是尚不清楚circRNAs是否参与大肠杆菌诱导的细菌性脑膜炎。我们使用高通量测序来分析响应脑膜炎大肠埃希菌的原代脑微血管内皮细胞中宿主circRNA的转录谱。总共308个circRNA发生了显着改变，包括140个上调和168个下调（p <0.05）。京都基因与基因组百科全书（KEGG）以及这些改变的circRNA亲本基因的基因本体论丰富性表明，它们很可能通过影响其亲本基因的表达而参与了多种生物过程。结合我们以前的mRNA和microRNA测序数据，进行了竞争性内源RNA分析，并初步构建并验证了潜在的调控网络。通过揭示参与大肠杆菌的宿主circRNA的转录谱 对于脑膜炎，可以预见，在细菌性脑膜炎的发展过程中，对circRNAs调控机制的新见解将使人们对如何预防和治疗细菌中枢神经系统感染有更好的了解。