Open Access

REVIEW

Underlying mechanisms and clinical potential of circRNAs in glioblastoma

LEI ZHANG^*, YUAN ZHANG, HUIJUAN GAO, XIN LI, PEIFENG LI^*

Institute for Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266021, China

* Corresponding Authors: LEI ZHANG. Email: ; PEIFENG LI. Email:

Oncology Research 2023, 31(4), 449-462. https://doi.org/10.32604/or.2023.029062

Received 30 January 2023; Accepted 14 April 2023; Issue published 25 June 2023

Abstract

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most malignant form of glioma and is difficult to diagnose, leading to high mortality rates. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are noncoding RNAs with a covalently closed loop structure. CircRNAs are involved in various pathological processes and have been revealed to be important regulators of GBM pathogenesis. CircRNAs exert their biological effects by 4 different mechanisms: serving as sponges of microRNAs (miRNAs), serving as sponges of RNA binding proteins (RBPs), modulating parental gene transcription, and encoding functional proteins. Among the 4 mechanisms, sponging miRNAs is predominant. Their good stability, broad distribution and high specificity make circRNAs promising biomarkers for GBM diagnosis. In this paper, we summarized the current understanding of the characteristics and action mechanisms of circRNAs, illustrated the underlying regulatory mechanisms of circRNAs in GBM progression and explored the possible diagnostic role of circRNAs in GBM.

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Graphic Abstract

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Keywords

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