Circular RNAs Could Encode Unique Proteins and Affect Cancer Pathways

CircRNA and lncRNA-encoded peptide in diseases, an update review

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), including circular RNAs (circRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), are unique RNA molecules widely identified in the eukaryotic genome. Their dysregulation has been discovered and played key roles in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, including various cancers. Previously considered devoid of protein-coding ability, recent research has revealed that a small number of open reading frames (ORFs) within these ncRNAs endow them with the potential for protein coding. These ncRNAs-derived peptides or proteins have been proven to regulate various physiological and pathological processes through diverse mechanisms. Their emerging roles in disease diagnosis and targeted therapy underscore their potential utility in clinical settings. This comprehensive review aims to provide a systematic overview of proteins or peptides encoded by lncRNAs and circRNAs, elucidate their production and functional mechanisms, and explore their promising applications in cancer diagnosis, disease prediction, and targeted therapy.

Circular RNAs: Regulators of endothelial cell dysfunction in atherosclerosis

Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction is associated with atherosclerosis. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed loops formed by back-splicing, are highly expressed in a tissue-specific or cell-specific manner, and regulate ECs mainly through miRNAs (mircoRNAs) or protein sponges. This review describes the regulatory mechanisms and physiological functions of circRNAs, as well as the differential expression of circRNAs in aberrant ECs. This review focuses on their roles in inflammation, proliferation, migration, angiogenesis, apoptosis, senescence, and autophagy in ECs from the perspective of signaling pathways, such as nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), nucleotide-binding domain, leucine-rich-repeat family, pyrin-domain-containing 3 (NLRP3)/caspase-1, Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), and phosphoinositide-3 kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt). Finally, we address the issues and recent advances in circRNAs as well as circRNA-mediated regulation of ECs to improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the progression of atherosclerosis and provide a reference for studies on circRNAs that regulate EC dysfunction and thus affect atherosclerosis.