The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis of the Chinese Ministry of Health, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
The Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Cancer Invasion of the Chinese Ministry of Education, Basic Medical Science School and Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
Mol Cancer. 2018 Apr 7;17(1):79. doi: 10.1186/s12943-018-0827-8.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are connected at the 3' and 5' ends by exon or intron cyclization, forming a complete ring structure. circRNA is more stable and conservative than linear RNA and abounds in various organisms. In recent years, increasing numbers of reports have found that circRNA plays a major role in the biological functions of a network of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA). circRNAs can compete together with microRNAs (miRNAs) to influence the stability of target RNAs or their translation, thus, regulating gene expression at the transcriptional level. circRNAs are involved in biological processes such as tumor cell proliferation, apoptosis, invasion, and migration as ceRNAs. circRNAs, therefore, represent promising candidates for clinical diagnosis and treatment. Here, we review the progress in studying the role of circRNAs as ceRNAs in tumors and highlight the participation of circRNAs in signal transduction pathways to regulate cellular functions.
环状 RNA（circRNA）通过外显子或内含子环化在 3' 和 5' 端连接，形成完整的环状结构。circRNA 比线性 RNA 更稳定和保守，存在于各种生物体中。近年来，越来越多的报道发现 circRNA 在竞争性内源性 RNA（ceRNA）网络的生物学功能中起着重要作用。circRNA 可以与 microRNAs（miRNAs）竞争，影响靶 RNA 的稳定性或翻译，从而在转录水平上调节基因表达。circRNA 作为 ceRNA 参与肿瘤细胞增殖、凋亡、侵袭和迁移等生物学过程。因此，circRNA 是临床诊断和治疗的有前途的候选物。在这里，我们综述了作为 ceRNA 的 circRNA 在肿瘤中的作用的研究进展，并强调了 circRNA 参与信号转导途径调节细胞功能的作用。
