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. 2021 Apr 13;66:103337. doi: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103337

Fig. 2.

Fig 2

Validation and the clinical utility of circRNAs. (a) – (b) Expression levels of circFKBP8 and circMBNL1 were determined by RT-qPCR in the independent validation set (53 MDD patients and 52 HCs). Each sample was tested in triplicate. Independent-samples t-test was used for data analysis and all data represents means ± standard deviation. (c) Correlation between circFKBP8 expression level and serum BDNF levels in 53 MDD patients. (d) –(e) Correlation between circMBNL1 expression levels and the HAMD-24 and BHS scores in 53 MDD patients. (f) Results from mediation analysis involving circMBNL1, BDNF and HAMD-24 scores in 53 MDD patients. Covariates were controlled for age, gender and BMI. β1 represents the comparable regression coefficient for association between circMBNL1 and BDNF; β2 and β3 represent comparable regression coefficients for the association between BDNF and HAMD-24 scores, and association between circMBNL1 and HAMD-24 scores with both circMBNL1 and BDNF in the linear regression model. β1 × β2 = indirect effect of circMBNL1 on HAMD-24 scores, and β3 = direct effect of circMBNL1 on HAMD-24 scores without the effect of the mediator BDNF. (g) Right ORBmid region displayed significantly increased ALFF in 53 MDD patients compared with 52 HCs (p < 0.05, Alphasim multiple comparison correction, voxel number: 166). Covariates were age, gender and years of education. (H) Correlation analysis between HAMD-24 scores and ALFF values of the right ORBmid in 53 MDD patients. (i) - (j). Correlation between expression levels of circFKBP8 and circMBNL1 and the ALFF values of the right ORBmid region in 53 MDD patients. (k) ROC curves of circFKBP8, circMBNL1 and the combination of the 2 circRNAs. circRNA, circular RNA; MDD, major depressive disorder; HC, healthy control; RT-qPCR, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction; BDNF, brain-derived neurotrophic factor; HAMD-24, 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; BHS, Beck Hopelessness Scale; ROC, receiver operating characteristic; ORBmid, orbital part middle frontal gyrus; R, right; ALFF, amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation.