Seeing Is Believing: Visualizing Circular RNAs

Advancement in the RNA sequencing techniques has discovered hundreds of thousands of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in humans. However, the physiological function of most of the identified circRNAs remains unexplored. Recent studies have established that spliceosomal machinery and RNA-binding proteins modulate circRNA biogenesis. Furthermore, circRNAs have been implicated in regulating crucial cellular processes by interacting with various proteins and microRNAs. However, there are several challenges in understanding the mechanism of circRNA biogenesis, transport, and their interaction with cellular factors to regulate cellular events because of their low abundance and sequence similarity with linear RNA. Addressing these challenges requires systematic studies that directly visualize the circRNAs in cells at single-molecule resolution along with the molecular regulators. In this review, we present the design, benefits, and weaknesses of RNA imaging techniques such as single-molecule RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization and BaseScope in fixed cells and fluorescent RNA aptamers in live-cell imaging of circRNAs. Furthermore, we propose the potential use of molecular beacons, multiply labeled tetravalent RNA imaging probes, and Cas-derived systems to visualize circRNAs.