Abstract

ARIZACA-MAQUERA, Karol Andrea  and  FERNANDEZ-ALVAREZ, Ana Julia. Circular RNAs: molecules with past and future. Actu Biol [online]. 2022, vol.44, n.117, e3.  Epub Aug 19, 2022. ISSN 0304-3584.  https://doi.org/10.17533/udea.acbi.v44n117a03.

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of recently identified RNAs highly expressed in eukaryotes and conserved between species. The biogenesis of circRNAs is a product of the backsplicing process that occurs during pre-mRNA maturation, where the binding 3' donor and 5' acceptor sites produce a circular molecule. The closed loop structure of circRNAs provides greater stability and increases resistance to the activity of some RNAses when compared to linear RNA. Different functions of circRNAs have been postulated such as splicing competition against the gene from which they derive, miRNA sponges, regulators of CpG island methylation, or mediators in pAKT migration to the nucleus. Therefore, circRNAs are considered important post-transcriptional regulators for cell survival and have been used as biomarkers in cancer diseases. The abundance of circRNA in neural tissue also implicates them in the development of different nervous system pathologies including those found in geriatric patients. The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of circRNAs in eukaryotes by presenting possible functions and highlighting their importance in cardiac, nervous, endocrine, and digestive systems. Moreover, the impact on cardiogenesis, neurodegeneration, and cancer are discussed to understand why circRNAs are considered as an important tool in molecular biology research field.

Keywords : ALU sequence; backsplicing; miRNA sponge.

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