Lacazette Éric, Diallo Leila Halidou, Tatin Florence, Garmy-Susini Barbara, Prats Anne-Catherine
UMR 1048-I2MC (Institut des maladies métaboliques et cardiovasculaires), Inserm, Université de Toulouse, UT3, Toulouse, France.
Med Sci (Paris). 2020 Jan;36(1):38-43. doi: 10.1051/medsci/2019267. Epub 2020 Feb 4.
RNA has not said its last word with the rise of a new RNA family, circular RNAs (circRNAs). Discovered 25 years ago, circRNAs were initially considered as splicing byproducts. Today it appears that 14% of human genes produce circRNAs, whereas more than 100 000 different circRNAs are expressed. They are produced from coding genes through an alternative splicing mechanism called backsplicing, where an acceptor site is linked with a donor site located downstream. Nuclear circRNAs regulate transcription and splicing of their linear isoform. Cytoplasmic circRNAs, which are predominant, either sequester miRNAs or RNA binding proteins, or are translated via internal initiation mechanisms. CircRNAs may constitute a powerful biotechnogical tool for protein synthesis, as their translation is stable over time. In addition, exogenous circRNAs generate less immune response than their linear counterparts. We will also discuss in this review their biotechnological potential and their roles in pathological processes.
随着一种新的RNA家族——环状RNA（circRNA）的兴起，RNA尚未说完它的全部。circRNA在25年前被发现，最初被认为是剪接副产物。如今看来，14%的人类基因可产生circRNA，而表达的circRNA有超过100000种不同类型。它们通过一种名为反向剪接的可变剪接机制从编码基因产生，即一个受体位点与位于下游的供体位点相连。细胞核circRNA调节其线性异构体的转录和剪接。占主导地位的细胞质circRNA要么隔离微小RNA（miRNA）或RNA结合蛋白，要么通过内部起始机制进行翻译。由于circRNA的翻译随时间稳定，它们可能构成蛋白质合成的强大生物技术工具。此外，外源性circRNA比其线性对应物产生的免疫反应更少。我们还将在本综述中讨论它们的生物技术潜力及其在病理过程中的作用。
