Department of Clinical Laboratory, First Affiliated Hospital of the USTC, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Key Laboratory of Innate Immunity and Chronic Disease, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Division of Life Science and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China (UTSC), Hefei, 230027, China.
School of Life Sciences, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China; Center of Plant Functional Genomics, Institute of Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Chongqing University, Chongqing 401331, China.
Trends Biochem Sci. 2022 Mar;47(3):250-264. doi: 10.1016/j.tibs.2021.11.004. Epub 2021 Dec 2.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed single-stranded RNAs. Four subclasses of circRNAs have been identified in animal cells, and they have unique features in their biogenesis, degradation, and transport. CircRNAs have diverse molecular functions in sponging miRNAs, regulating transcription, modulating RNA-binding proteins, and even encoding proteins. Some circRNAs are important regulators of various physiological processes to maintain homeostasis. Dysregulation of circRNAs is associated with human disorders, and individual circRNAs are crucial factors that contribute to major diseases including non-immunological diseases such as cancers, neurological disorders, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic disease. Debates on circRNAs have also been raised in recent years, and further studies would help to resolve these disputes and potentially lead to biomedical applications of circRNAs.
环状 RNA（circRNAs）是共价闭合的单链 RNA。在动物细胞中已鉴定出 4 类 circRNAs，它们在生物发生、降解和运输方面具有独特的特征。circRNAs 在海绵 miRNA、调节转录、调节 RNA 结合蛋白甚至编码蛋白方面具有多种分子功能。一些 circRNAs 是各种生理过程的重要调节剂，以维持内稳态。circRNAs 的失调与人类疾病有关，个体 circRNAs 是导致包括癌症、神经紊乱、心血管疾病和代谢疾病等非免疫性疾病在内的主要疾病的关键因素。近年来，关于 circRNAs 的争论也不断出现，进一步的研究将有助于解决这些争议，并有可能为 circRNAs 的生物医学应用提供依据。
