Advances in Circular RNA and Its Applications

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a novel endogenous non-coding RNA (ncRNA) that, like microRNA (miRNA), is a rapidly emerging RNA research topic. CircRNA, unlike traditional linear RNAs (which have 5' and 3' ends), has a closed-loop structure that is unaffected by RNA exonucleases. Thus, circRNA has sustained expression and is less sensitive to degradation. Since circRNAs have many miRNAs binding sites, eliminating their repressive effects on their target genes can strongly enhance their expression. CircRNAs serve an important regulatory role in disease onset and progression via specific circRNA-miRNA interactions. We summarized the current progress in elucidating mechanisms and biogenesis of circRNAs in this review. In particular, circRNAs can function mainly as miRNA sponges, regulating host gene expression and protein transportation. Finally, we discussed the application prospects and significant challenges for the development of circRNA-based therapeutics.