Lv Jun-Lin, Ma Ru, Ren Yu-Shan, Liang Qing-Yue, Zhang He-Meng, Dong Gui-Cheng, Li Jie
College of Pharmacy, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China.
School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, Shandong, China.
Front Oncol. 2025 Jun 5;15:1555002. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1555002. eCollection 2025.
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a new category of non-coding RNAs implicated in the molecular pathology of cancer, such as oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Circular intronic RNAs (ciRNAs), exonic circRNAs (ecircRNAs), and exon-intron circRNAs (EIciRNAs) are three primary types of circRNAs resulted from the circularization of extron and intron which give rise to the distinct biology of circRNAs. Due to their unique structure and biogenesis, circRNAs exhibit tissue- and cell-specific expression profiles. Recent studies have highlighted that in OSCC, some circRNAs are differentially expressed compared with adjacent normal tissues, with these variables potentially influencing OSCC initiation and progression through diverse mechanisms. Furthermore, earlier clinical trials have indicated that circRNAs could be considered as potential therapeutic targets and biomarkers for OSCC. It should be noted that many circRNAs modulate tumor cells proliferation/apoptosis and metastasis via regulating gene transcription and post transcriptional expressions. Furthermore, certain circRNAs function as effective microRNA sponges, thereby inhibiting oncogenic pathways in OSCC. In summary, the discovery of circRNAs has unveiled new avenues for cancer research, particularly in OSCC. This review provides an overview of circRNA biogenesis, their biological functions, and their roles as differentially expressed molecules in OSCC, emphasizing their potential for clinical application and warranting further investigation into their functional and therapeutic relevance.
环状RNA（circRNAs）是一类新的非编码RNA，与癌症的分子病理学有关，如口腔鳞状细胞癌（OSCC）。环状内含子RNA（ciRNAs）、外显子circRNAs（ecircRNAs）和外显子-内含子circRNAs（EIciRNAs）是circRNAs的三种主要类型，它们由外显子和内含子环化产生，这导致了circRNAs独特的生物学特性。由于其独特的结构和生物发生过程，circRNAs表现出组织和细胞特异性的表达谱。最近的研究强调，在OSCC中，一些circRNAs与相邻正常组织相比存在差异表达，这些变量可能通过多种机制影响OSCC的发生和进展。此外，早期临床试验表明，circRNAs可被视为OSCC的潜在治疗靶点和生物标志物。应该注意的是，许多circRNAs通过调节基因转录和转录后表达来调节肿瘤细胞的增殖/凋亡和转移。此外，某些circRNAs作为有效的微小RNA海绵发挥作用，从而抑制OSCC中的致癌途径。总之，circRNAs的发现为癌症研究开辟了新途径，特别是在OSCC方面。本综述概述了circRNA的生物发生、它们的生物学功能以及它们作为OSCC中差异表达分子的作用，强调了它们的临床应用潜力，并值得进一步研究它们的功能和治疗相关性。
