ISSN: 1449-1907International Journal of Medical Sciences
Global reach, higher impact
Int J Med Sci 2019; 16(4):513-518. doi:10.7150/ijms.29750 This issue Cite
Review
Circular RNAs: Novel Promising Biomarkers in Ocular Diseases
1. Department of Ophthalmology,
2. Department of Radiology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, No. 71 of xinmin St., Changchun, Jilin Province, 130021, China.
*Nan Guo, Xiu-fen Liu, Om Prakash Pant, Dan-Dan Zhou are co-first authors.
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel class of endogenous non-coding RNAs produced by back-splicing. They are found to be expressed in eukaryotic cells and play certain roles in various cellular functions, including fibrosis, cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis and angiogenesis. Dysregulated circRNAs are found in several human disorders including, malignancy, vascular, inflammatory as well as nervous diseases. Although, increasing evidence suggests that circRNAs may also contribute in different ocular diseases, the outline of circRNAs in ocular diseases remains obscure. In this review we consider the current state of knowledge regarding the potential role and underlying mechanism of circRNAs in ocular diseases including pterygium, age-related cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, retinoblastoma, retinal vascular dysfunction and hyperhomocysteinemia induced ocular diseases, emphasizing that circRNAs could be promising biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis evaluation. Future circRNAs-targeted intervention may become a novel therapeutic tool for the treatment of ocular diseases.
Keywords: circRNAs, non-coding RNAs, ocular diseases
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