Circular RNAs as Competing Endogenous RNAs in Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases: Molecular Mechanisms and Clinical Implications

Autor: Xue Min, Dong-liang Liu, Xing-dong Xiong
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, Vol 8 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2297-055X
DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2021.682357
Popis: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) represent a novel class of widespread and diverse endogenous RNA molecules. This unusual class of RNA species is generated by a back-splicing event of exons or introns, resulting in a covalently closed circRNA molecule. Accumulating evidence indicates that circRNA plays an important role in the biological functions of a network of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA). CircRNAs can competitively bind to miRNAs and abolish the suppressive effect of miRNAs on target RNAs, thus regulating gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. The role of circRNAs as ceRNAs in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (CVDs) has been recently reported and highlighted. Understanding the underlying molecular mechanism could aid the discovery of therapeutic targets or strategies against CVDs. Here, we review the progress in studying the role of circRNAs as ceRNAs in CVDs, with emphasis on the molecular mechanism, and discuss future directions and possible clinical implications.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals