1 Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Oral Tissue Regeneration, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
2 Department of Orthodontics, School of Stomatology, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
Cell Transplant. 2019 Jul;28(7):819-830. doi: 10.1177/0963689719837917. Epub 2019 Apr 4.
Oral diseases, such as cancers, inflammation, loss of bone/tooth/soft tissues, are serious threats to human health since some can cause systemic disease and effective treatments are limited. Thus, discovering promising biomarkers for physiological and pathological processes in oral medicine, and identifying novel targets for therapy have become a most critical issue. Recently, circular RNAs (circRNAs), which were once thought to be a class of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), are found to be of coding potential. CircRNAs are highly present in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and are key elements in the physiological and biological processes of various pathological conditions, and are also reflected in oral development and progress. Previous studies have indicated that circRNAs are involved in the initiation and development of different types of diseases and tissues (e.g., cancers, cardiovascular diseases, neural development, growth and development, wood healing, liver regeneration). Moreover, growing evidence demonstrates that circRNAs play vital roles in oral cancers and osteogenic differentiation of periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs). Here, we focus on the biological characteristics of circRNAs, beginning with an overview of previous studies on the functional roles of circRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in oral medicine. We hope this will give us a promising new comprehension of the underlying mechanisms occurring during related biological and pathological progress, and contribute to the development of effective diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for oral diseases.
口腔疾病，如癌症、炎症、骨/牙/软组织丧失，对人类健康构成严重威胁，因为有些疾病会导致全身性疾病，且有效治疗方法有限。因此，发现用于口腔医学中生理和病理过程的有前途的生物标志物，以及鉴定用于治疗的新型靶标已成为一个最关键的问题。最近，环状 RNA（circRNA），曾经被认为是一类非编码 RNA（ncRNA），现已被发现具有编码潜能。circRNA 高度存在于真核细胞的细胞质中，是各种病理条件生理和生物过程的关键要素，也反映在口腔发育和进展中。先前的研究表明 circRNA 参与了不同类型疾病和组织（如癌症、心血管疾病、神经发育、生长和发育、木材愈合、肝再生）的发生和发展。此外，越来越多的证据表明 circRNA 在口腔癌和牙周韧带干细胞（PDLSCs）的成骨分化中发挥重要作用。在这里，我们重点介绍 circRNA 的生物学特性，首先概述以前关于 circRNA 作为口腔医学中诊断生物标志物和治疗靶标的功能作用的研究。我们希望这将使我们对相关生物学和病理进展过程中发生的潜在机制有一个有希望的新认识，并有助于开发用于口腔疾病的有效诊断生物标志物和治疗靶标。
