Underlying mechanisms and clinical potential of circRNAs in glioblastoma

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant form of glioma and is difficult to diagnose, leading to high mortality rates. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNAs with a covalently closed loop structure. CircRNAs are involved in various pathological processes and have been revealed to be important regulators of GBM pathogenesis. CircRNAs exert their biological effects by 4 different mechanisms: serving as sponges of microRNAs (miRNAs), serving as sponges of RNA binding proteins (RBPs), modulating parental gene transcription, and encoding functional proteins. Among the 4 mechanisms, sponging miRNAs is predominant. Their good stability, broad distribution and high specificity make circRNAs promising biomarkers for GBM diagnosis. In this paper, we summarized the current understanding of the characteristics and action mechanisms of circRNAs, illustrated the underlying regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs in GBM progression and explored the possible diagnostic role of circRNAs in GBM.

Glioblastoma Therapy: Past, Present and Future

“…CircRNAs exert their biological effects through four different mechanisms: serving as sponges of RNA binding proteins, modulating parental gene transcription, encoding functional proteins and, most importantly, serving as sponges of miRNAs [ 189 ]. As is thoroughly reviewed in [ 189 , 190 ], circRNAs regulate GB proliferation and invasion and are also involved in angiogenesis activation.…”

“…CircRNAs exert their biological effects through four different mechanisms: serving as sponges of RNA binding proteins, modulating parental gene transcription, encoding functional proteins and, most importantly, serving as sponges of miRNAs [ 189 ]. As is thoroughly reviewed in [ 189 , 190 ], circRNAs regulate GB proliferation and invasion and are also involved in angiogenesis activation. Good stability, broad distribution and high specificity make circRNAs promising biomarkers for GB prognosis and/or diagnosis, although their clinical implementation still has a long way to go.…”