The Biogenesis, Functions, and Challenges of Circular RNAs

Covalently closed circular RNAs (circRNAs) are produced by precursor mRNA back-splicing of exons of thousands of genes in eukaryotes. circRNAs are generally expressed at low levels and often exhibit cell-type-specific and tissue-specific patterns. Recent studies have shown that their biogenesis requ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Molecular cell Vol. 71; no. 3; p. 428
Main Authors: Li, Xiang, Yang, Li, Chen, Ling-Ling
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States 02.08.2018
Subjects:
Alternative Splicing
Animals
Exons
Humans
MicroRNAs - genetics
RNA - genetics
RNA - metabolism
RNA - physiology
RNA Precursors - metabolism
RNA Splicing
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
Spliceosomes - metabolism
intronic complementary sequences
spliceosomal machinery
RNA-seq
circRNA
circular RNA
function
back-splicing
biogenesis
linear RNA
RNA binding proteins
ISSN:1097-4164, 1097-4164
Online Access:Get more information
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Summary:Covalently closed circular RNAs (circRNAs) are produced by precursor mRNA back-splicing of exons of thousands of genes in eukaryotes. circRNAs are generally expressed at low levels and often exhibit cell-type-specific and tissue-specific patterns. Recent studies have shown that their biogenesis requires spliceosomal machinery and can be modulated by both cis complementary sequences and protein factors. The functions of most circRNAs remain largely unexplored, but known functions include sequestration of microRNAs or proteins, modulation of transcription and interference with splicing, and even translation to produce polypeptides. However, challenges exist at multiple levels to understanding of the regulation of circRNAs because of their circular conformation and sequence overlap with linear mRNA counterparts. In this review, we survey the recent progress on circRNA biogenesis and function and discuss technical obstacles in circRNA studies.
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ISSN:1097-4164
1097-4164
DOI:10.1016/j.molcel.2018.06.034