[Research advances in nucleic acid drugs developed based on circular RNAs]

The development and clinical application of nucleic acid drugs has been a trendy field. One of the notable examples is mRNA vaccines, which have been used in the fighting against SARS-CoV-2. With short development cycles and mature preparation processes, mRNA vaccines demonstrate advantages in the global supply and in response to virus mutations. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a group of nucleic acid molecules with more stable structure, longer half-life, and weaker immunogenicity than mRNAs. Studies have proven that circRNAs can efficiently express protein products, indicating their potential in drug development. Despite extensive studies on the biogenesis and biological functions of circRNAs, there is limited research on developing nucleic acid drugs based on circRNAs. This article provides an overview of circRNAs, including their basic information, synthesis routes, and mechanisms, and discusses the future development directions of this field, hoping to provide inspiration for the research and development of drugs based on circRNAs.