Unit of Oncogenomic and Epigenetic, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy.
Department of Biological Regulation, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Mol Oncol. 2019 Apr;13(4):669-680. doi: 10.1002/1878-0261.12468. Epub 2019 Feb 18.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) comprise an emerging new class of endogenous RNAs expressed abundantly by the eukaryotic transcriptome. They are characterized by a covalently closed loop structure, resulting in RNA molecules that are more stable than linear RNAs. A growing number of studies indicate that circRNAs play critical roles in human diseases and show great potential as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The molecular events determined by circRNA activity, the circRNA code, involve other types of noncoding RNA molecules, primarily microRNAs, long noncoding RNAs, and RNA-binding proteins. Herein, we mainly focus on the circRNA-microRNA code, showing how this relationship impacts the regulation of gene expression in cancer. The emerging roles for circRNAs in oncogenic pathways highlight new perspectives for the detailed molecular dissection of cancer pathogenesis and, at the same time, offer new opportunities to design innovative therapeutic strategies. Here, we review recent research advancements in understanding the biogenesis, molecular functions, and significance of circRNAs in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
环状 RNA（circRNAs）是一类新兴的内源性 RNA，在真核转录组中大量表达。它们的特征是共价闭环结构，导致 RNA 分子比线性 RNA 更稳定。越来越多的研究表明，circRNAs 在人类疾病中发挥着关键作用，并具有作为生物标志物和治疗靶点的巨大潜力。由 circRNA 活性决定的分子事件，即 circRNA 编码，涉及其他类型的非编码 RNA 分子，主要是 microRNAs、长非编码 RNA 和 RNA 结合蛋白。在此，我们主要关注 circRNA-microRNA 编码，展示这种关系如何影响癌症中基因表达的调控。circRNAs 在致癌途径中的新兴作用突出了癌症发病机制的详细分子剖析的新视角，同时为设计创新的治疗策略提供了新的机会。在这里，我们综述了近年来在理解 circRNAs 在癌症诊断和治疗中的生物发生、分子功能和意义方面的研究进展。
