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- 2019
CircNT5E/miR-422a: a new circRNA-based ceRNA network in glioblastomaDOI: 10.21037/25448 Abstract: The vast majority of human transcriptome is composed of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that contribute to genetic and epigenetic regulation through complex interactions with proteins and nucleic acids. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a conserved class of ncRNAs, generated from a non-canonical back splicing process, that catalyzes a covalent bond between the 5' and 3' ends of a single-stranded RNA molecule (1). The absence of free ends makes circular RNAs extremely stable and resistant to degradation. Many circRNAs have a tissue-specific expression and are particularly abundant in mammalian brain (2). Moreover, multiple evidences show that circRNAs are critical in cancer pathogenesis exhibiting both oncogenic and tumor suppressive properties (3). However, despite their high expression level, the biological functions of circRNAs are still poorly understood. Interestingly, a critical function assigned to circRNAs is the ability to act as “competing endogenous RNAs” (ceRNAs), subtracting microRNAs from their natural mRNA targets. As a result, circRNAs regulate gene expression establishing a dynamic crosstalk with numerous transcripts (4)
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