Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria INCLIVA, 46010 Valencia, Spain.
Cells. 2020 Jun 25;9(6):1544. doi: 10.3390/cells9061544.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body responds to an infection that damages it is own tissues. The major problem in sepsis is rapid, vital status deterioration in patients, which can progress to septic shock with multiple organ failure if not properly treated. As there are no specific treatments, early diagnosis is mandatory to reduce high mortality. Despite more than 170 different biomarkers being postulated, early sepsis diagnosis and prognosis remain a challenge for clinicians. Recent findings propose that circular RNAs (circRNAs) may play a prominent role in regulating the patients' immune system against different pathogens, including bacteria and viruses. Mounting evidence also suggests that the misregulation of circRNAs is an early event in a wide range of diseases, including sepsis. Despite circRNA levels being altered in sepsis, the specific mechanisms controlling the dysregulation of these noncoding RNAs are not completely elucidated, although many factors are known to affect circRNA biogenesis. Therefore, there is a need to explore the molecular pathways that lead to this disorder. This review describes the role of this new class of regulatory RNAs in sepsis and the feasibility of using circRNAs as diagnostic biomarkers for sepsis, opening up new avenues for circRNA-based medicine.
脓毒症是一种危及生命的病症，当身体对感染自身组织的感染产生反应时就会发生。脓毒症的主要问题是患者的生命状态迅速恶化，如果不及时治疗，可能会发展为感染性休克和多器官衰竭。由于没有特定的治疗方法，因此早期诊断对于降低高死亡率是强制性的。尽管已经提出了 170 多种不同的生物标志物，但早期脓毒症的诊断和预后仍然是临床医生面临的挑战。最近的研究结果表明，环状 RNA（circRNA）可能在调节患者对不同病原体（包括细菌和病毒）的免疫系统方面发挥重要作用。越来越多的证据还表明，circRNA 的失调是包括脓毒症在内的多种疾病的早期事件。尽管脓毒症中 circRNA 的水平发生了改变，但控制这些非编码 RNA 失调的具体机制尚未完全阐明，尽管许多因素已知会影响 circRNA 的生物发生。因此，有必要探索导致这种疾病的分子途径。本文综述了这一新类调控 RNA 在脓毒症中的作用以及将 circRNA 用作脓毒症诊断生物标志物的可行性，为基于 circRNA 的医学开辟了新途径。
