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Review
. 2019 Nov;52(6):e12704.
doi: 10.1111/cpr.12704. Epub 2019 Oct 16.

Circular RNAs in nucleus pulposus cell function and intervertebral disc degeneration

Zheng Li  1 , Xin Chen  1 , Derong Xu  2 , Shugang Li  1 , Matthew T V Chan  3 , William K K Wu  3   4
Affiliations
Review

Circular RNAs in nucleus pulposus cell function and intervertebral disc degeneration

Zheng Li et al. Cell Prolif. 2019 Nov.

Abstract

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a common cause of low back pain, which inflicts more global disability than any other condition. Although IDD was deemed to be a natural process that comes with ageing, a growing body of evidence suggested that both genetic and environmental factors could modify the development of IDD. In this connection, aberrant function of nucleus pulposus cells has been implicated in IDD pathogenesis. Circular RNAs are a novel class of endogenous non-coding RNAs that play crucial regulatory roles in diverse cellular processes. Recently, deregulation of circRNAs in nucleus pulposus cells was found to functionally participate in IDD development. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the deregulation of circRNAs in IDD in relation to their actions on nucleus pulposus cell functions, including cell proliferation, apoptosis and extracellular matrix synthesis/degradation. The potential clinical utilities of circRNAs as therapeutic targets for the management of IDD are also discussed.

Keywords: Circular RNA VMA21; CircularRNA_104670; circRNAs; circSEMA4B; intervertebral disc degeneration.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Upregulation of circRNA_104670 and downregulation of circSEMA4B, circ‐GRB10 and circVMA21 contribute to IDD pathogenesis through promoting NP cell apoptosis/senescence, enhancing ECM degradation or reducing collagen II/aggrecan synthesis. Upregulation of circ‐4099 represents an autoregulatory protective response against IDD development
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