Prostate Cancer: De-regulated Circular RNAs With Efficacy in Preclinical In Vivo Models

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Prostate cancer treatment faces significant challenges due to therapy resistance, including castration-resistance and metastasis.
• Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are increasingly recognized for their roles in cancer development and progression.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify dysregulated circRNAs impacting treatment efficacy in preclinical prostate cancer models.
• To discover novel therapeutic targets and strategies for overcoming prostate cancer resistance.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was performed on PubMed.
• Focused on preclinical *in vivo* models of prostate cancer related to treatment resistance.
• Identified and cataloged deregulated circRNAs and their associated biological processes.

Main Results:

• Identified 49 circRNAs implicated in various cancer-related processes.
• These circRNAs are linked to treatment resistance, protein regulation, signaling pathways, and epigenetic modifications.
• Specific circRNAs were associated with transmembrane and secreted proteins, transcription factors, and metabolism.

Conclusions:

• Dysregulated circRNAs represent promising targets for prostate cancer therapy.
• Down-regulated circRNAs may be candidates for reconstitution therapy.
• Up-regulated circRNAs can potentially be targeted by small interfering RNA (siRNA), antisense oligonucleotides (ASO), or CRISPR-Cas approaches.