The novel roles of circRNAs in human cancer

Abstract

Covalently closed single-stranded circular RNAs (circRNAs) consist of introns or exons and are widely present in eukaryotic cells. CircRNAs generally have low expression levels and relatively stable structures compared with messenger RNAs (mRNAs), most of which are located in the cytoplasm and often act in cell type and tissue-specific manners, indicating that they may serve as novel biomarkers. In recent years, circRNAs have gradually become a hotspot in the field of RNA and cancer research, but the functions of most circRNAs have not yet been discovered. Known circRNAs can affect the biogenesis of cancers in diverse ways, such as functioning as a microRNA (miRNA) sponges, combining with RNA binding proteins (RBPs), working as a transcription factor and translation of proteins. In this review, we summarize the characteristics and types of circRNAs, introduce the biogenesis of circRNAs, discuss the emerging functions and databases on circRNAs and present the current challenges of circRNAs studies.

Circular RNA; a new biomarker for breast cancer: A systematic review

“…circRNAs presentation in eukaryotic transcriptome makes it more complex and diverse. Fundamental physiological roles of circRNAs could effect on initiation and progression of cancer (Shang, Yang, Jia, & Ge, 2019). miRNA sponges are transcripts contained a complementary sequence with target mRNAs resulted in a substantial alteration of miRNAs activity.…”

“…Furthermore, the ability of circRNAs in the trapping of the target protein also was shown in a recent study. Degrading Argonaute 2 by ciRS‐7 and SRY causes inhibiting mRNA transcription (Shang et al, 2019).…”

circRNA circ‐CCND1 promotes the proliferation of laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma through elevating CCND1 expression via interacting with HuR and miR‐646

“…As a special class of non-coding RNA, circular RNA (circRNA), characterized by the covalently closed ring structure, is attracting considerable attention. 8 circRNA is highly stable and conservative with regulatory potency. 9 A large number of studies have shown that circRNA is involved in the development and progression of human diseases, especially in cancer.…”

The Non-Coding RNA Landscape of Plasma Cell Dyscrasias

“…CircRNAs are poorly characterized ncRNAs acting within complex regulatory systems involved in cancer pathogenesis [159]. A main obstacle to a deeper understanding of these molecules is the lack of standardized procedures.…”