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Review
. 2022 Nov 2:13:1035159.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2022.1035159. eCollection 2022.

Discussing the role of circular RNA in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its complications

Melissa Yepmo  1 , Jean-Baptiste Potier  1   2 , Michel Pinget  1 , Anastasia Grabarz  2 , Karim Bouzakri  1   2 , Aurore Dumond Bourie  1
Affiliations
Review

Discussing the role of circular RNA in the pathogenesis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and its complications

Melissa Yepmo et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are class of non-coding RNA, which are characterized by a covalently closed loop structure. Functionally they can act on cellular physiology, notably by sponging microRNAs (miR), regulating gene expression or interacting with binding protein. To date, circRNAs might represent an interesting, underexploited avenue for new target discovery for therapeutic applications, especially in the liver. The first characteristic of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is hepatic cholesterol accumulation, followed by its advanced form of the affection, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), due to the occurrence of lobular inflammation, irreversible fibrosis, and in some cases hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, studies have investigated the importance of the dysregulation of circRNAs in the onset of metabolic disorders. In this review, we summarize the potential role of circRNAs in the development of metabolic diseases associated with the liver such as NAFLD or NASH, and their potential to become therapeutic strategies for these pathologies.

Keywords: NAFLD; NASH; circRNA; crosstalk; hepatocellular carcinoma; insulin resistance; liver.

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Conflict of interest statement

J-BP, AG, and KB were employed by ILONOV. J-BP’s thesis is co-funded by an individual financial aid for training through research received by Ilonov from the State, through the Ministry in charge of Research. The remaining 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
CircRNAs involved in NAFLD stage. This figure represents the effect of circRNAs in lipid metabolism through different pathways. The identification of circRNA involved in autophaghy is also shown.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CircRNAs involved in NASH stage. This figure represents the effect of circRNAs in inflammation, fibrosis and oxidative stress through sponging specific miRNAs that can upregulate or downregulate specific proteins and signaling pathways.
Figure 3
Figure 3
CircRNAs involved in HCC onset. This figure shows the implication of circRNAs in the pathophysiology of HCC. The right side represents those promoting tumor suppression while the left side highlights the circRNAs exacerbating HCC progression.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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