Circular RNA (circRNA) is a special type of non-coding RNA, which is abundantly present in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and is mainly produced by variable-shear processing of pre-mRNA. Recent studies have found that circRNA has many important regulatory functions. For example, circRNA can be used as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to bind intracellular miRNAs, blocking the inhibition of miRNAs on their target genes, and circRNA also functions to regulate other types of RNA and regulate protein activity. CircRNA is conserved in different species, and there are differences in tissue expression, and its circular structure is not sensitive to RNase, so it is more stable than linear RNA. These characteristics make circRNA have great potential in the development of new disease diagnosis and treatment methods, and the research is of great significance.
How to conduct circRNA research?
circRNA Production and Mechanism
Ebbesen K K, et al. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)-Gene Regulatory Mechanisms, 2016, 1859(1): 163-168.