State Key Laboratory of Esophageal Cancer Prevention & Treatment, Henan Key Laboratory of Microbiome and Esophageal Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Henan Key Laboratory of Cancer Epigenetics, Cancer Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital (College of Clinical Medical) of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, China.
Methods. 2022 Sep;205:234-246. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2022.07.011. Epub 2022 Jul 22.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of noncoding RNAs with covalently single-stranded closed loop structures derived from back-splicing event of linear precursor mRNAs (pre-mRNAs). N6-methyladenosine (mA), the most abundant epigenetic modification in eukaryotic RNAs, has been shown to play a crucial role in regulating the fate and biological function of circRNAs, and thus affecting various physiological and pathological processes. Accurate identification of mA modification in circRNAs is an essential step to fully elucidate the crosstalk between mA and circRNAs. In recent years, the rapid development of high-throughput sequencing technology and bioinformatic methodology has propelled the establishment of a multitude of approaches to detect circRNAs and mA modification, including in vitro-based and in silico methods. Based on this, the research community has started on a new journey to develop methods for identification of mA modification in circRNAs. In this review, we provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of the existing methods responsible for detecting circRNAs, mA modification, and especially, mA modification in circRNAs, which mainly focused on those developed based on high-throughput technologies and methodology of bioinformatics. This handy reference can help researchers figure out towards which direction this field will go.
环状 RNA（circRNA）是一类具有共价单链闭合环结构的非编码 RNA，来源于线性前体 mRNA（pre-mRNA）的反向剪接事件。N6-甲基腺苷（m6A）是真核 RNA 中最丰富的表观遗传修饰，已被证明在调节 circRNA 的命运和生物学功能方面发挥着关键作用，从而影响各种生理和病理过程。准确识别 circRNA 中的 m6A 修饰是充分阐明 m6A 与 circRNA 之间相互作用的关键步骤。近年来，高通量测序技术和生物信息学方法的快速发展推动了大量检测 circRNA 和 m6A 修饰方法的建立，包括基于体外和基于计算的方法。在此基础上，研究界开始了一项新的旅程，旨在开发鉴定 circRNA 中 m6A 修饰的方法。在这篇综述中，我们全面回顾和评估了现有的负责检测 circRNA、m6A 修饰、特别是 circRNA 中 m6A 修饰的方法，主要集中在那些基于高通量技术和生物信息学方法开发的方法上。这个方便的参考可以帮助研究人员了解该领域的发展方向。
