Khan Faiz Ali, Nsengimana Bernard, Khan Nazeer Hussain, Song Zhenhua, Ngowi Ebenezeri Erasto, Wang Yunyun, Zhang Weijuan, Ji Shaoping
Laboratory of Cell Signal Transduction, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, China.
Front Oncol. 2022 Feb 11;12:781270. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.781270. eCollection 2022.
The discovery of circular RNAs and exploration of their biological functions are increasingly attracting attention in cell bio-sciences. Owing to their unique characteristics of being highly conserved, having a relatively longer half-life, and involvement in RNA maturation, transportation, epigenetic regulation, and transcription of genes, it has been accepted that circRNAs play critical roles in the variety of cellular processes. One of the critical importance of these circRNAs is the presence of small open reading frames that enable them to encode peptides/proteins. In particular, these encoded peptides/proteins mediate essential cellular activities such as proliferation, invasion, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, and apoptosis and develop an association with the development and progression of cancers by modulating diverse signaling pathways. In addition, these peptides have potential roles as biomarkers for the prognosis of cancer and are being used as drug targets against tumorigenesis. In the present review, we thoroughly discussed the biogenesis of circRNAs and their functional mechanisms along with a special emphasis on the reported chimeric peptides/proteins encoded by circRNAs. Additionally, this review provides a perspective regarding the opportunities and challenges to the potential use of circRNAs in cancer diagnosis and therapeutic targets in clinics.
环状RNA的发现及其生物学功能的探索在细胞生物科学领域越来越受到关注。由于其具有高度保守、半衰期相对较长以及参与RNA成熟、运输、表观遗传调控和基因转录等独特特性，人们已经认识到环状RNA在多种细胞过程中发挥着关键作用。这些环状RNA的一个至关重要之处在于存在小开放阅读框，使其能够编码肽/蛋白质。特别是，这些编码的肽/蛋白质介导诸如增殖、侵袭、上皮-间质转化和凋亡等重要的细胞活动，并通过调节多种信号通路与癌症的发生和发展产生关联。此外，这些肽作为癌症预后的生物标志物具有潜在作用，并正被用作抗肿瘤发生的药物靶点。在本综述中，我们深入讨论了环状RNA的生物合成及其功能机制，特别强调了环状RNA编码的嵌合肽/蛋白质。此外，本综述还就环状RNA在临床癌症诊断和治疗靶点中的潜在应用所面临的机遇和挑战提供了观点看法。
