Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Vera Moulton Wall Center for Pulmonary Vascular Disease, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.
Eur Respir J. 2022 Dec 1;60(6). doi: 10.1183/13993003.00012-2022. Print 2022 Dec.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are endogenous, covalently circularised, non-protein-coding RNAs generated from back-splicing. Most circRNAs are very stable, highly conserved, and expressed in a tissue-, cell- and developmental stage-specific manner. circRNAs play a significant role in various biological processes, such as regulation of gene expression and protein translation sponging of microRNAs and binding with RNA-binding proteins. circRNAs have become a topic of great interest in research due to their close link with the development of various diseases. Their high stability, conservation and abundance in body fluids make them promising biomarkers for many diseases. A growing body of evidence suggests that aberrant expression of circRNAs and their targets plays a crucial role in pulmonary vascular remodelling and pulmonary arterial hypertension (group 1) as well as other forms (groups 3 and 4) of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Here we discuss the roles and molecular mechanisms of circRNAs in the pathogenesis of pulmonary vascular remodelling and PH. We also highlight the therapeutic and biomarker potential of circRNAs in PH.
环状 RNA（circRNAs）是一类内源性、共价闭环、无蛋白质编码的 RNA，由反向剪接产生。大多数 circRNAs 非常稳定、高度保守，并表现出组织、细胞和发育阶段特异性表达。circRNAs 在各种生物学过程中发挥着重要作用，如基因表达和蛋白质翻译的调控、miRNA 的海绵作用以及与 RNA 结合蛋白的结合。由于它们与各种疾病的发展密切相关，circRNAs 成为研究的热点。它们在体液中的高稳定性、保守性和丰度使它们成为许多疾病有前途的生物标志物。越来越多的证据表明，circRNAs 及其靶标的异常表达在肺血管重塑和肺动脉高压（第 1 组）以及其他形式（第 3 组和第 4 组）的肺动脉高压（PH）中起着关键作用。在这里，我们讨论了 circRNAs 在肺血管重塑和 PH 发病机制中的作用和分子机制。我们还强调了 circRNAs 在 PH 中的治疗和生物标志物潜力。
