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Regulatory Role of Circular RNAs and Neurological Disorders

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Abstract

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of long noncoding RNAs that are characterized by the presence of covalently linked ends and have been found in all life kingdoms. Exciting studies in regulatory roles of circRNAs are emerging. Here, we summarize classification, characteristics, biogenesis, and regulatory functions of circRNAs. CircRNAs are found to be preferentially expressed along neural genes and in neural tissues. We thus highlight the association of circRNA dysregulation with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Investigation of regulatory role of circRNAs will shed novel light in gene expression mechanisms during development and under disease conditions and may identify circRNAs as new biomarkers for aging and neurodegenerative disorders.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation of China (81471152), the Hirschl/Weill-Caulier Trust (T.S.), and an R01-MH083680-07 grant from the NIH/NIMH (T.S.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Gabriele Floris

  2. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Cornell University Weill Medical College, 1300 York Avenue, Box 60, New York, NY, 10065, USA

    Tao Sun

  3. Huaqiao University, Quanzhou, 362021, China

    Longbin Zhang

  4. Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Paolo Follesa

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  1. Gabriele Floris
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  2. Longbin Zhang
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  3. Paolo Follesa
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  4. Tao Sun
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Correspondence to Gabriele Floris or Tao Sun.

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Floris, G., Zhang, L., Follesa, P. et al. Regulatory Role of Circular RNAs and Neurological Disorders. Mol Neurobiol 54, 5156–5165 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-016-0055-4

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