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Review
. 2021 Dec;10(24):8725-8740.
doi: 10.1002/cam4.4398. Epub 2021 Nov 18.

Circular RNA: A promising new star for the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer

Shunhao Zhang  1 , Jing Sun  1 , Minqi Gu  1 , Guihua Wang  2 , Xudong Wang  2
Affiliations
Review

Circular RNA: A promising new star for the diagnosis and treatment of colorectal cancer

Shunhao Zhang et al. Cancer Med. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignant tumors of the digestive tract. According to the research of circular RNAs in the CRC field, compared with linear RNAs, circular RNAs are a special type of noncoding RNA that are covalently closed circular structures, which have no 5' cap structure and 3' polyA tail and are not affected by RNA exonuclease and actinomycin D.

Biological functions: Notably, circular RNAs have a high degree of stability and potential effect on gene regulation. Meanwhile, circular RNAs are involved in the sponge action of microRNAs and mediate protein translation and direct binding, alternative splicing, and histone modification.

Relationships with crc: Studies have shown that circular RNAs are related to the proliferation, invasion, recurrence, metastasis, ferroptosis, apoptosis, and chemotherapy resistance of CRC.

Conclusions: This article provides a brief review based on the source, structural characteristics, mechanisms, biological functions of circular RNAs, and the relationships between CRC.

Keywords: biomarker; cancer stem cell; circular RNA; colorectal cancer; recurrence and metastasis; therapeutic target.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The biogenesis of circRNAs. (A) Intron pairing‐driven circularization. The reverse complementary sequences on both sides of the paired introns mediate reverse splicing to generate circRNAs. (B) RBPs bind to the flanks of introns to bring the donor site closer to the acceptor site, thereby assisting circulation. (C) The biogenesis of CiRNAs require a consensus motif. (D) Alternative back‐splicing
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Mechanisms and biological functions of circRNAs. (A) CircRNAs can be a sponge for miRNAs. (B) CircRNAs mediate protein translation. (C) CircRNAs interact with RBPs. (D) CircRNAs are involved in histone modification
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
The relationships of circRNAs and CRC. (A) CircRNAs mediate the occurrence and development of CRC. (B) CircRNAs participate in clinical chemotherapy resistance of CRC. (C) CircRNAs are involved in CRC recurrence and metastasis. (D) CircRNAs can be potential therapeutic targets for CRC. (E) CircRNAs can be used as biomarkers for CRC treatment
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