Kundu Indira, Varshney Shivani, Karnati Srikanth, Naidu Srivatsava
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar, Punjab, India.
Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.
Mol Ther Nucleic Acids. 2024 Jul 20;35(3):102286. doi: 10.1016/j.omtn.2024.102286. eCollection 2024 Sep 10.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a distinct class of covalently closed RNA species lacking conventional 5' to 3' polarity. Derived predominantly from pre-mRNA transcripts of protein-coding genes, circRNAs arise through back-splicing events of exon-exon or exon-intron junctions. They exhibit tissue- and cell-specific expression patterns and play crucial roles in regulating fundamental cellular processes such as cell cycle dynamics, proliferation, apoptosis, and differentiation. CircRNAs modulate gene expression through a plethora of mechanisms at epigenetic, transcriptional, and post-transcriptional levels, and some can even undergo translation into functional proteins. Recently, aberrant expression of circRNAs has emerged as a significant molecular aberration within the intricate regulatory networks governing hallmarks of cancer. The tumor-specific expression patterns and remarkable stability of circRNAs have profound implications for cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy. This review comprehensively explores the multifaceted roles of circRNAs across cancer hallmarks in various tumor types, underscoring their growing significance in cancer diagnosis and therapeutic interventions. It also details strategies for leveraging circRNA-based therapies and discusses the challenges in using circRNAs for cancer management, emphasizing the need for further research to overcome these obstacles.
环状RNA（circRNAs）是一类独特的共价闭合RNA分子，缺乏传统的5'至3'极性。circRNAs主要来源于蛋白质编码基因的前体mRNA转录本，通过外显子-外显子或外显子-内含子连接处的反向剪接事件产生。它们呈现出组织和细胞特异性的表达模式，并在调节细胞周期动力学、增殖、凋亡和分化等基本细胞过程中发挥关键作用。circRNAs通过表观遗传、转录和转录后水平的多种机制调节基因表达，有些甚至可以翻译成功能性蛋白质。最近，circRNAs的异常表达已成为复杂的癌症特征调控网络中的一种重要分子异常。circRNAs的肿瘤特异性表达模式和显著稳定性对癌症诊断、预后和治疗具有深远意义。本综述全面探讨了circRNAs在各种肿瘤类型的癌症特征中的多方面作用，强调了它们在癌症诊断和治疗干预中日益重要的意义。它还详细介绍了基于circRNA的治疗策略，并讨论了使用circRNAs进行癌症管理的挑战，强调需要进一步研究以克服这些障碍。
