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Updated: Jun 30, 2025
In Silico Identification and Characterization of circRNAs During Host-Pathogen Interactions
Published on: October 21, 2022
Expanding roles of circRNAs in cardiovascular diseases
Xu Liu1, Xuelin Yao2,3, Liang Chen1
1Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230001, China.
Insights
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are key RNA molecules with roles in disease. This review focuses on circRNA functions and therapeutic potential in cardiovascular disease (CVD), highlighting their diagnostic and prognostic value.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are unique RNA molecules with looped structures.
- Advances in understanding circRNA biogenesis, function, and disease roles are rapidly emerging.
- CircRNAs are recognized for their stability, conservation, and tissue-specific expression patterns.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize current knowledge on circRNAs.
- To review recent progress in circRNA functions and mechanisms in cardiovascular disease (CVD).
- To discuss future research and therapeutic perspectives for circRNAs in CVD.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing research on circRNAs.
- Analysis of circRNA roles in cardiovascular disease pathogenesis.
- Exploration of bioinformatics and therapeutic strategies for circRNAs.
Main Results:
- CircRNAs play significant roles in various diseases, including CVD.
- Novel bioinformatics approaches and modulation strategies are advancing circRNA research.
- CircRNAs show promise as diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers due to their stability and specificity.
Conclusions:
- CircRNAs represent a significant area of research with therapeutic potential for CVD.
- Further investigation into circRNA functions and mechanisms is crucial for developing novel treatments.
- CircRNAs are valuable candidates for developing innovative diagnostic and prognostic tools for cardiovascular diseases.
Abstract:
CircRNAs are a class of single-stranded RNAs characterized by covalently looped structures. Emerging advances have promoted our understanding of circRNA biogenesis, nuclear export, biological functions, and functional mechanisms. Roles of circRNAs in diverse diseases have been increasingly recognized in the past decade, with novel approaches in bioinformatics analysis and new strategies in modulating circRNA levels, which have made circRNAs the hot spot for therapeutic applications. Moreover, due to the intrinsic features of circRNAs such as high stability, conservation, and tissue-/stage-specific expression, circRNAs are believed to be promising prognostic and diagnostic markers for diseases. Aiming cardiovascular disease (CVD), one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, we briefly summarize the current understanding of circRNAs, provide the recent progress in circRNA functions and functional mechanisms in CVD, and discuss the future perspectives both in circRNA research and therapeutics based on existing knowledge.
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