环状RNA与肿瘤研究进展

Research progress on circular RNA in tumor

环状RNA(circular RNA,circRNA)是一类由外显子或内含子反向剪接形成的闭合环状非编码RNA。越来越多的证据表明,circRNA高度保守,普遍存在于各种真核细胞基因组中,且稳定表达于胞质内。circRNA可作为微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA)海绵吸附miRNA或与RNA相关蛋白结合形成复合物,进而调节基因转录等。肿瘤组织circRNA的发现提示其可能在肿瘤发生、发展和侵袭等方面发挥着重要调控作用,有望成为肿瘤诊断和治疗的潜在靶标。

Circular RNA （circRNA） is a new type of non-coding RNA, which can form a closed covalent ring structure. More and more evidences have shown that circRNA is high conserved in evolution, ubiquitous in the genome of various eukaryotic cells and has a stable expression in the cytoplasm. CircRNA has many potential functions, such as being a miRNA sponge, or regulating gene transcription by binding to RNA related proteins to form an RNA protein complex. The findings of circRNAs in tumor suggest that circRNA may play an important role in the occurrence and development of tumor. Therefore, circRNA could be a new potential biomarker in the diagnosis and treatment of tumor.