Liu Chi, Li Nan, Dai Guifeng, Cavdar Omer, Fang Hong
Department of Geriatrics Center, Jing'an District Central Hospital of Shanghai, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Ann Transl Med. 2021 Apr;9(7):578. doi: 10.21037/atm-20-7929.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs), a novel class of non-coding RNA, are produced by back-splicing and were initially considered to be by-products of splicing. In recent years, computational technology and experimental evidence have revealed the tremendous amounts and potential physiological or pathological functions of this novel non-coding RNA species. At present, the roles of circRNAs in neurological diseases, immune diseases, and cancers have come to light. In addition, increasing studies have identified the expression profiles of circRNA in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and revealed the involvement of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of CVDs which are the leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide, and result in substantial health and financial burden. Despite current improvements in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches, survival and prognosis of CVDs patients remain relatively poor. Due to the involvements of circRNAs in CVDs and their outstanding characteristics of high stability, conservation, and tissue- or developmental-specificity, circRNA-based biomarkers or gene therapy may be effective approaches to reduce CVDs burden. In the review, we systematically summarized the formation mechanisms, functional models, and research approaches of circRNAs, and several circRNAs involved in CVDs. Finally, we proposed that developing circRNAs as biomarkers or circRNA-based therapeutic strategies based on biological or physical materials may be promising to diagnose or treat CVDs in the future.
环状RNA（circRNAs）是一类新型的非编码RNA，由反向剪接产生，最初被认为是剪接的副产物。近年来，计算技术和实验证据揭示了这类新型非编码RNA的巨大数量及其潜在的生理或病理功能。目前，circRNAs在神经疾病、免疫疾病和癌症中的作用已被揭示。此外，越来越多的研究确定了circRNA在心血管疾病（CVDs）中的表达谱，并揭示了circRNAs参与CVDs的发病机制，CVDs是全球死亡率和发病率的主要原因，会导致巨大的健康和经济负担。尽管目前诊断和治疗方法有所改进，但CVDs患者的生存率和预后仍然相对较差。由于circRNAs参与CVDs，且具有高稳定性、保守性以及组织或发育特异性等突出特点，基于circRNA的生物标志物或基因治疗可能是减轻CVDs负担的有效方法。在这篇综述中，我们系统地总结了circRNAs的形成机制、功能模型和研究方法，以及几种参与CVDs的circRNAs。最后，我们提出，将circRNAs开发为生物标志物或基于生物或物理材料的circRNA治疗策略，未来可能有望用于诊断或治疗CVDs。
