Zhang Senmiao, Li Yanling, Xin Shuyu, Yang Li, Jiang Mingjuan, Xin Yujie, Wang Yiwei, Yang Jing, Lu Jianhong
Hunan Cancer Hospital/the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
Department of Medical Microbiology, School of Basic Medical Science, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China.
Cancers (Basel). 2022 Sep 20;14(19):4564. doi: 10.3390/cancers14194564.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a kind of head-and-neck malignant tumor, and distant metastasis treatment resistance is the leading cause of patient death. In-depth understanding of NPC progression and treatment failure remains to be explored. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNAs that play key regulatory role in shaping tumor cell activities. Recent studies have revealed that lncRNA and circRNA function as competitive endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) by regulating the posttranscriptional expression of genes as miRNA baits. The imbalanced ceRNA networks derived from lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction are widely found to contribute to NPC development. Herein, we summarize typical examples of lncRNA/circRNA-associated ceRNAs in recent years, which involved the potential molecular mechanisms in the regulation of proliferation, apoptosis, treatment resistance and metastasis of NPC, and discuss their potential clinical significance in the prognosis and treatment of NPC. Interpreting the involvement of ceRNAs networks will provide new insight into the pathogenesis and treatment strategies of NPC. However, ceRNA regulatory mechanism has some limitations currently. Screening the most effective ceRNA targets and the clinical application of ceRNA still has many challenges.
鼻咽癌（NPC）是一种头颈部恶性肿瘤，远处转移治疗抵抗是患者死亡的主要原因。对鼻咽癌进展和治疗失败的深入理解仍有待探索。长链非编码RNA（lncRNAs）和环状RNA（circRNAs）是非编码RNA，在塑造肿瘤细胞活性中起关键调节作用。最近的研究表明，lncRNA和circRNA作为竞争性内源性RNA（ceRNAs），通过作为miRNA诱饵调节基因的转录后表达发挥作用。广泛发现源自lncRNA/circRNA-miRNA-mRNA相互作用的失衡ceRNA网络促进鼻咽癌的发展。在此，我们总结了近年来lncRNA/circRNA相关ceRNAs的典型例子，其中涉及调节鼻咽癌增殖、凋亡、治疗抵抗和转移的潜在分子机制，并讨论它们在鼻咽癌预后和治疗中的潜在临床意义。解读ceRNAs网络的参与将为鼻咽癌的发病机制和治疗策略提供新的见解。然而，ceRNA调节机制目前存在一些局限性。筛选最有效的ceRNA靶点以及ceRNA的临床应用仍面临许多挑战。
