Biogenesis, features, functions, and disease relationships of a specific circular RNA: CDR1as

Abstract

In 2011, Hansen discovered the natural antisense transcript (NAT) of the cerebellar degeneration-related protein 1 gene (CDR1), and further described CDR1 NAT as a circular RNA (CircRNA). CDR1 antisense RNA (CDR1as), which is the official name of CDR1 NAT, is conserved and extensively expressed in most eutherian mammal brains and other specialized tissues. Further studies have elucidated its biogenesis, features, functions, and relationships with diseases. CDR1as is involved in many disease processes as a microRNA (miR) sponge. Therefore, it seems that further research on CDR1as could facilitate the diagnosis and treatment of some diseases, such as cancer and diabetes. However, a detailed analysis of the results of studies on CDR1as revealed that they are inconsistent and make unclear conclusions. In this review, we gathered and analyzed the recent studies about CDR1as in detail and aimed to elucidate accurate conclusions from them.