NHC Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis, Hunan Key Laboratory of Oncotarget Gene, Hunan Cancer Hospital and the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, China.
Cancer Research Institute, Central South University, Changsha, 410078, China.
J Exp Clin Cancer Res. 2023 Apr 15;42(1):86. doi: 10.1186/s13046-023-02657-6.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel type of endogenous non-coding RNAs, which are covalently closed loop structures formed by precursor mRNAs (pre-mRNAs) through back-splicing. CircRNAs are abnormally expressed in many tumors, and play critical roles in a variety of tumors as oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes by sponging miRNAs, regulating alternative splicing and transcription, cis-regulating host genes, interacting with RNA binding proteins (RBPs) or encoding polypeptides. Among them, the regulation of circRNAs on their corresponding host genes is a critical way for circRNAs to exit their functions. Accumulating evidence suggests that circRNAs are able to regulate the expression of host genes at the transcriptional level, post-transcriptional level, translational level, post-translational level, or by encoding polypeptides. Therefore, this paper mainly summarized the roles and association of circRNAs and their corresponding host genes in tumorigenesis and tumor progression, generalized the circRNAs that function synergistically or antagonistically with their host genes, and elaborated the mechanisms of mutual regulation between circRNAs and their host genes. More importantly, this review provides specific references for revealing the potential application of circRNAs combined with their host genes in tumor diagnosis, treatment and prognosis.
环状 RNA（circRNA）是一种新型的内源性非编码 RNA，它是由前体 mRNA（pre-mRNA）通过反向剪接形成的共价闭环结构。circRNA 在许多肿瘤中异常表达，通过海绵吸附 miRNAs、调节可变剪接和转录、顺式调控宿主基因、与 RNA 结合蛋白（RBPs）相互作用或编码多肽等方式，作为癌基因或肿瘤抑制基因，在各种肿瘤中发挥关键作用。其中，circRNA 对其相应的宿主基因的调控是 circRNA 发挥功能的关键途径。越来越多的证据表明，circRNA 能够在转录水平、转录后水平、翻译水平、翻译后水平或通过编码多肽来调节宿主基因的表达。因此，本文主要总结了 circRNA 及其相应宿主基因在肿瘤发生和肿瘤进展中的作用和关联，概括了与宿主基因协同或拮抗作用的 circRNA，并阐述了 circRNA 与其宿主基因之间相互调控的机制。更重要的是，该综述为揭示 circRNA 与其宿主基因在肿瘤诊断、治疗和预后中的潜在应用提供了具体参考。
