Circular RNAs in leukemia (Review)

Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been demonstrated to be biomarkers in human cancers. CircRNAs are majorly recognized in the transcript formation of eukaryotic genes. Research has also revealed that circRNAs regulate gene expression at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and translational levels. Notably, there have been studies demonstrating that they contribute to the improvement of various diseases, including cancer. In this regard, they have potential applications in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. In circRNA studies of blood fluids, plasma circRNAs have been identified as biomarkers in human cancers. For instance, the acute myeloid leukemia-associated hsa_circ_0004277 has been reported to be a biomarker in targeted treatments. This links with circRNAs being highly expressed in hematopoietic tissue; in haematopoiesis, the cell states are controlled by the main regulators and the complex circuits of the RNA family. In particular, circRNA serve a role in cellular processes including self-renewal, apoptosis and proliferation. In the current review, the aim was to explain the role of the defined pathogenic circRNAs derived from leukemia fusion genes and of hsa_circ_0004277 in leukemia cells.