AUTHOR=Molibeli Kearabetsoe Matseliso , Hu Rong , Liu Yuze , Xiong Dehui , Tang Lijun 

TITLE=Potential Clinical Applications of Exosomal Circular RNAs: More than Diagnosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-biosciences/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2021.769832

DOI=10.3389/fmolb.2021.769832

ISSN=2296-889X

ABSTRACT=Exosomes are small vesicles derived from cells used as intercellular communication goods in various diseases including tumors, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases and other diseases. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a novel family of non-coding endogenous RNAs generated through backsplicing, catalyzed by RNA polymerase Ⅱ. These non-coding RNAs have been proposed to regulate gene expression by acting as miRNA sponges, RNA-binding protein regulation and translational capabilities. Genome-wide RNA-seq analyses discovered that circRNAs were enriched in exosomes compared to parental cells. Little attention has been dedicated to exosomal circRNAs(exo-circRNAs). However, research has demonstrated that exo-circRNAs may have important regulatory functions because of their stability in cells and within exosomes. If well understood, the precise roles and mechanisms of exo-circRNAs may increase the potential clinical applications of these molecules as markers in the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of various diseases. In this review, we outline recent findings regarding exo-circRNAs which includes their functions and highlights their potential applications and therapeutic targets in human diseases.