Circular RNAs modulate cell death in cardiovascular diseases

Runfang Pan1, Chinying Koo1, Wenyuan Su2

  • 1Department of Anatomy, School of Integrative Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.

PubMed

Insights

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are key regulators of programmed cell death (PCD) in cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Targeting circRNAs offers promising therapeutic strategies for treating CVDs by modulating cell death pathways.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Cardiovascular Research
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) represent a significant global health burden.
  • Programmed cell death (PCD) pathways, including apoptosis and necroptosis, are critical in CVD progression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in regulating PCD mechanisms within the context of CVDs.
  • To highlight the potential of circRNAs as therapeutic targets for CVD treatment.

Main Methods:

  • Review of current research on circRNA regulation of PCD.
  • Analysis of circRNA mechanisms, including miRNA sponging, protein interactions, and translation.
  • Examination of therapeutic strategies involving circRNA manipulation (inhibition/overexpression).

Main Results:

  • CircRNAs are increasingly recognized as crucial regulators of gene expression impacting PCD.
  • Apoptosis is the most studied PCD mechanism regulated by circRNAs, with growing interest in pyroptosis and necroptosis.
  • CircRNAs exert regulatory functions through diverse molecular mechanisms.

Conclusions:

  • CircRNAs play a significant role in modulating PCD in CVDs.
  • Targeting circRNAs presents a promising avenue for novel therapeutic interventions in cardiovascular medicine.
  • Further research into circRNA-mediated pathways is essential for understanding CVD pathophysiology.

Related Concept Videos

lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs02:39

lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs

In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA...
8.4K
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
2.9K
Experimental RNAi02:15

Experimental RNAi

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...
6.0K
siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs02:30

siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs

Small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, are short regulatory RNA molecules that can silence genes post-transcriptionally, as well as the transcriptional level in some cases. siRNAs are important for protecting cells against viral infections and silencing transposable genetic elements.
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the...
16.3K
Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation02:19

Circadian Rhythms and Gene Regulation

The biological clock is involved in many aspects of regulating complex physiology in all animals. It was in 1935 when German zoologists, Hans Kalmus and Erwin Bünning, discovered the existence of circadian rhythm in Drosophila melanogaster. However, the internal molecular mechanisms behind the circadian clock remained a mystery until 1984, when Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash, and Michael W. Young discovered the expression of the Per gene oscillating over a 24-hour cycle. In subsequent...
4.0K
Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response01:31

Regulation of the Unfolded Protein Response

Inositol-requiring kinase one or IRE1 is the most conserved eukaryotic unfolded protein response (UPR) receptor. It is a type I transmembrane protein kinase receptor with a distinctive site-specific RNase activity. As the binding mechanics of the misfolded proteins with the N-terminal domain of IRE-1 are unclear, three binding models — direct, indirect, and allosteric -- are proposed for receptor activation. Nevertheless, it is known that once a misfolded protein associates with IRE1, it...
2.3K