Characterizations of a novel peptide encoded by a circular RNA using in-silico analyses

CircRNAs have gained importance in recent times due to their involvement in gene regulation and also in the prognosis of cancer. Generally, the circRNA directly interact with miRNA or RNA binding proteins to exert their action, but some of them can be translated. These translated peptides often participate in the regulation of cellular processes. The circPPP1R12A translated peptide has been shown to influence the functioning of the Mst pathway. The Mst signaling is noteworthy for its role in the process of development, but it also has a function as a regulator of apoptosis, which is significant for regulation of cancer. Overexpression of this novel peptide deactivates the Mst signaling to induce the expression of the proliferative oncogene, Yap. Its molecular interaction with the molecules in the Mst pathway is hitherto unknown. In this short report we present our findings from in-silico studies the plausible structure of the peptide through bioinformatics and dynamics simulation studies. This is the first such report on the structure of the novel peptide encoded by circPPP1R12A, which could be important to predict in future its molecular interactions to understand its functionality.