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Review
. 2022 Apr 7:12:845703.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.845703. eCollection 2022.

Circular RNA and Its Roles in the Occurrence, Development, Diagnosis of Cancer

Yue Zhang  1 , Xinyi Zhang  1 , Yumeng Xu  1 , Shikun Fang  1 , Ying Ji  1 , Ling Lu  2 , Wenrong Xu  1 , Hui Qian  1 , Zhao Feng Liang  1
Affiliations
Review

Circular RNA and Its Roles in the Occurrence, Development, Diagnosis of Cancer

Yue Zhang et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are non-coding single-stranded covalently closed circular RNA, mainly produced by reverse splicing of exons of precursor mRNAs (pre-mRNAs). The characteristics of high abundance, strong specificity, and good stability of circRNAs have been discovered. A large number of studies have reported its various functions and mechanisms in biological events, such as the occurrence and development of cancer. In this review, we focus on the classification, characterization, biogenesis, functions of circRNAs, and the latest advances in cancer research. The development of circRNAs as biomarkers in cancer diagnosis and treatment also provides new ideas for studying circRNAs research.

Keywords: biogenesis; biomarkers; cancer; circRNAs; mechanisms.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Biogenesis and function of circRNAs (A) Biogenesis of circRNAs. (a) Pre-mRNA splicing removes introns to form mature linear mRNA. (b) The introns removed by pre-mRNA splicing form circularization to form a stable ciRNA. (c) Circularization of pre-mRNA exons into ecircRNA. (d) pre-mRNA exons and introns are circularized into ecircRNAs. (e) removal of pre-tRNA introns, release to form triRNA and tRNA. (f) form antisense circRNAs from non-coding regions of pre-mRNA. (g) from two different intergenic sequences to form intergenic circRNAs. (B) Functions and of circRNAs. (h) circRNAs translation protein with similar IRES sequence. (i) circRNAs as protein scaffolds. (j) circRNAs bind to RBPs. (k) circRNAs as sponges for miRNA. (l) circRNAs interact with RNA polymerase II to regulate gene expression. (m) circRNAs are packaged into vesicles and released outside the cell to perform biological functions.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Overview of circRNAs in various types of cancers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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