Influenza A virus is a single-stranded RNA virus that can cause great mortality and economic loss worldwide. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding RNAs that have been shown to have important functions in the regulation of biological processes. However, their functions during the influenza A virus infection process remain unclear. Herein, RNA sequencing technology was used to identify circRNAs expressed in mouse lungs during infection with H7N9/PB2-627 K/701D (H7N9/Wild-type) virus and PB2 mutant viruses (H7N9/PB2-627E/701D and H7N9/PB2-627E/701 N). We identified 7126 circRNAs at different genomic locations during H7N9 influenza virus and its mutant virus infections, of which 186 were differentially expressed. Enrichment analysis revealed that the differentially expressed circRNAs were associated with the viral infection process. Our study shows that circRNA expression profiles were altered following H7N9 influenza A virus infection and the differentially expressed circRNAs may have an important immune-regulating function during viral infection.

甲型流感病毒是一种单链 RNA 病毒，可在全球范围内造成巨大的死亡率和经济损失。环状 RNA (circRNA) 是非编码 RNA，已被证明在调节生物过程中具有重要功能。然而，它们在甲型流感病毒感染过程中的作用仍不清楚。在此，RNA测序技术用于鉴定在感染H7N9/PB2-627 K/701D（H7N9/Wild-type）病毒和PB2突变病毒（H7N9/PB2-627E/701D和H7N9/PB2-）期间在小鼠肺中表达的circRNA 627E/701 N)。我们在 H7N9 流感病毒及其突变病毒感染期间在不同基因组位置鉴定了 7126 个 circRNA，其中 186 个差异表达。富集分析表明，差异表达的 circRNA 与病毒感染过程有关。