Exploring the regulatory roles of circular RNAs in Alzheimer’s disease

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a type of covalently closed, single-stranded circular noncoding RNA that can affect the expression of many protein-coding genes. Growing evidence has shown that circRNAs play critical roles in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and may have therapeutic potentials for this disease. CircRNAs play regulatory roles in neural functions and neurological disorders through diverse mechanisms, including acting as microRNA sponges or interacting with proteins to regulate selective splicing or transcription, as well as through epigenetic modification. In this review, we discuss the biogenesis and functions of circRNAs and the research progress on circRNAs in AD to advance the understanding of how circRNAs contribute to this neurological disorder.