Circ_0092222 is Enhanced in Alzheimer's Disease and Exacerbates Aβ-induced Neurotoxicity Through Sponging miR-331-3p.

Authors

Yan Guo, Pingting Chen, Sisi Chen, Niannian Xu, Jingtao Shi, Dehua Li, Pei Zhang

Published in

Molecular neurobiology. Volume 63. Issue 1. Jun 15, 2026. Epub Jun 15, 2026.

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the expression pattern of circ_0092222 in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and its role in Aβ-induced neuronal apoptosis. circ_0092222 was identified from the GEO dataset. Serum level of circ_0092222 in 95 AD patients and 100 controls was detected by reverse transcription quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). AD cell model was achieved by treating SH-SY5Y cells with Aβ25-35. Cell viability, cytotoxicity, apoptosis and inflammation were detected. The targeting relationship between circ_0092222 and miR-331-3p, and between miR-331-3p and SEC61A1 was verified by the dual-luciferase reporter gene assay. Pearson correlation and Logistic regression analysis were used to evaluate the relationship between variables and the risk factors for AD progression. Circ_0092222 expressions in AD patients were higher than that in the control group. Short years of education, low mini mental state examination (MMSE) score, low plasma Aβ42/40 ratio, and elevated circ_0092222 were independent risk factors for the progression of mild AD to moderate/severe. In cell experiments, the expression of circ_0092222 was upregulated. Knockdown of circ_0092222 could significantly reduce the apoptosis rate, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, and the expressions of Bax and cleaved caspase-3, and increase cell viability and Bcl-2 expression. Bioinformatics prediction and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay confirmed that circ_0092222 directly binds to miR-331-3p, and miR-331-3p directly targets SEC61A1. Functional rescue experiments demonstrated that circ_0092222 regulates Aβ25-35-induced neuronal injury by up-regulating SEC61A1 through sponging miR-331-3p. Inhibiting circ_0092222 can improve Aβ25-35-induced apoptosis and inflammation, suggesting that circ_0092222 may be a potential target for AD treatment.

PMID:
42295611
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 15 Jun 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.