Advancement and properties of circular RNAs in prostate cancer: An emerging and compelling frontier for discovering

Int J Biol Sci. 2021 Jan 19;17(2):651-669. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.52266. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common carcinoma among men worldwide which results in 26% of leading causes of cancer-related death. However, the ideal and effective molecular marker remains elusive. CircRNA, initially observed in plant-infected viruses and Sendai virus in 1979, is generated from pre-mRNA back-splicing and comes in to play by adequate expression. The differential expression in prostate tissues compared with the control reveals the promising capacity in modulating processes including carcinogenesis and metastasis. However, the biological mechanisms of regulatory network in PC needs to systemically concluded. In this review, we enlightened the comprehensive studies on the definite mechanisms of circRNAs affecting tumor progression and metastasis. What's more, we validated the potential clinical application of circRNAs serving as diagnostic and prognostic biomarker. The discussion and analysis in circRNAs will broaden our knowledge of the pathogenesis of PC and further optimize the current therapies against different condition.

Keywords: biomarker; circular RNA; microRNA; prostate cancer (PC); tumorigenesis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / metabolism
  • Carcinoma / metabolism*
  • Epigenesis, Genetic
  • Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition
  • Genes, Tumor Suppressor
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Oncogenes
  • Prostatic Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • RNA, Circular / metabolism*

Substances

  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • RNA, Circular