The role of circRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction network in endothelial dysfunction

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a neoteric researched transcript that involves gene regulation by serving as a micro-RNA (miRNA) sponge. This circRNA-miRNA-mRNA interaction is being recently explored, and its dysregulation is associated with disease pathogenesis and progression. Studies have demonstrated the involvement of this regulatory network in endothelium dysfunction-mediated regulation of pathology in vascular diseases. The disturbances or imbalance of vasodilation and vasoconstriction factors due to changes in oxidative stress, inflammatory markers, and nitric oxide signaling leads to endothelial dysfunction. These disturbances cause impermeability of blood through the endothelial barrier, thus developing atherosclerotic lesions. Advancements in high-throughput techniques like genome and RNA sequencing have made us understand this complex regulatory network causing endothelial dysfunction. In this review, we emphasize the network of interactions between circRNA, miRNA, and mRNA that mediates gene regulation and is linked to endothelial dysfunction in various pathological conditions.