Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.
Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB) - Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2018;1087:119-130. doi: 10.1007/978-981-13-1426-1_10.
Recent advances in RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis have allowed the development of a new research field: circular RNAs (circRNAs). These members of the non-coding transcriptome are generated by backsplicing, which results in a covalently closed, single-stranded RNA molecule. To date, thousands of circRNAs have been identified in different human cell types. CircRNAs are evolutionarily conserved, highly stable, cell-/developmental stage-specific and have longer half-lives compared with linear RNAs. Interestingly, different studies have demonstrated that circRNAs are abundantly expressed in the bloodstream. In this chapter, we review the current knowledge of circRNA biology in blood cells and the cell-free compartment, including extracellular vesicles. The potential clinical application of blood circRNAs in the biomarker and therapy fields is also discussed. Finally, perspectives for future studies are proposed.
近年来，RNA 测序和生物信息分析的进展使得一个新的研究领域得以发展：环状 RNA（circRNA）。这些非编码转录组的成员是通过反式剪接产生的，这导致了一个共价闭合的单链 RNA 分子。迄今为止，已经在不同的人类细胞类型中鉴定出了数千种 circRNA。circRNA 具有进化保守性、高度稳定性、细胞/发育阶段特异性，并且与线性 RNA 相比半衰期更长。有趣的是，不同的研究已经证明 circRNA 在血液中大量表达。在本章中，我们回顾了血细胞和无细胞区室（包括细胞外囊泡）中 circRNA 生物学的最新知识。还讨论了血液 circRNA 在生物标志物和治疗领域的潜在临床应用。最后提出了对未来研究的展望。
