Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Yunnan Province, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Kunming College of Life Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China.
Cell Mol Life Sci. 2021 May;78(9):4189-4200. doi: 10.1007/s00018-021-03780-3. Epub 2021 Feb 8.
Mammalian brain presents extraordinary complexity reflected in the structure, function, and dynamic changes in the biological and physiological processes of development, maturity, and aging. Recent transcriptomic profiles from the brain tissues of distinct species have described a novel class of transcripts with a covalently closed-loop structure, called circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are produced by alternative back-splicing and derived from genes associated with synaptogenesis and neural activities. Brain is a tightly regulated and largely unexplored organ where circRNAs are highly enriched and expressed in the cell type-, spatiotemporal-specific, sex-biased, and age-related manner. Although the biological functions of most of the circRNAs in the brain remain elusive, increased evidence suggests that dynamic changes in circRNA expression are critical for brain function and the maintenance of physiological homeostasis in the brain. Here, we review the latest immense progresses in the understanding of circRNA expression and function in the mammalian brain. We also discuss possibly biological functions of circRNAs in the brain, which may provide new sights of understanding brain development and aging, as well as the pathogenesis of mental diseases.
哺乳动物的大脑表现出非凡的复杂性，反映在结构、功能以及发育、成熟和衰老的生理过程中的动态变化上。最近，来自不同物种的脑组织的转录组图谱描述了一类具有共价闭环结构的新型转录本，称为环状 RNA（circRNA），它们是通过选择性反向剪接产生的，来源于与突触发生和神经活动相关的基因。大脑是一个受到严格调控但很大程度上尚未被探索的器官，其中 circRNA 以细胞类型特异性、时空特异性、性别偏倚和年龄相关的方式高度富集和表达。尽管大脑中大多数 circRNA 的生物学功能仍不清楚，但越来越多的证据表明，circRNA 表达的动态变化对大脑功能和大脑生理平衡的维持至关重要。在这里，我们综述了在理解哺乳动物大脑中 circRNA 表达和功能方面的最新巨大进展。我们还讨论了 circRNA 在大脑中的可能生物学功能，这可能为理解大脑发育和衰老以及精神疾病的发病机制提供新的视角。
