JOURNAL ARTICLE
RESEARCH SUPPORT, NON-U.S. GOV'T
REVIEW
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

The emerging functions and roles of circular RNAs in cancer.

Cancer Letters 2018 Februrary 2
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of single-stranded closed RNA molecules that undergo a specific backsplicing from pre-mRNA. With the application of high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics, circRNAs are found to be widely expressed across species. Some functionally characterized circRNAs have critical roles in gene regulation through various actions, including sponging microRNAs and proteins as well as regulating transcription and splicing. Moreover, most circRNAs are aberrantly expressed in different cancer types, and some of them have been reported to play important roles in the development and progression of cancer. Given the lack of a 5' cap structure and evidence of their ability to bind with ribosomes, circRNAs were generally considered as noncoding RNA. Notably, recent studies reported that endogenous circRNAs can be translated with a cap-independent manner, which redefines the functional roles of circRNA, further expanding the complexity of eukaryotic transcriptomes. This review aims to re-evaluate the functions and roles of circRNA from the cancer perspective. It discusses the current understanding of circRNA functions, the emerging roles of circRNA in cancer, and the challenges of future studies.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app