Fig. 1

Identification and characterization of circLOC101928570, a circRNA that is significantly downregulated in SLE. A Volcano plot describing the profile of differentially expressed circRNAs between the control and SLE groups. The selected 4 significantly changed circRNAs are marked with green and red dots (FDR < 0.05, |fold change|> 2.0). B CircLOC101928570 expression was significantly lower in SLE patients. The expression of circLOC101928570 in CD4 + T cells and CD8 + T cells from HC and SLE patients. The results are represented as the mean ± SD (n = 3), *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001. C, D Liner regression analysis for the expression of circLOC101928570 and the SLEDAI score and complement C3 level, respectively. E ROC curve of relative circLOC101928570 expression for differentiating the 62 patients with SLE from the 62 healthy controls. F Structure of the circLOC101928570 genome and transcript. CircLOC101928570 is produced by exon 3, and the junction point of circLOC101928570 was identified by qRT–PCR followed by Sanger sequencing. G Two CPG islands existed in the transcriptional core region of circLOC101928570. H Relative expression of circLOC101928570, linear LOC101928570 and actin were tested by PCR upon RNase R treatment. I FISH showed circLOC101928570 localization. circLOC101928570 probes were labeled with Cy3, and nuclei were stained with DAPI; scale bar: 10 µm