Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesis
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with a covalently closed circular structure, lacking 5’-caps or 3’-poly(A) tails. They are relatively conserved, highly stable, and often exhibit tissue- or cell-specific production in eukaryotic cells. Based on the advances in sequencing techn...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1564258/full |
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| author | Jiayin Liu Jiayin Liu Yiming Wang Yiming Wang Meichun Zheng Meichun Zheng Jiayuan Du Jiayuan Du Mohamed Maarouf Mohamed Maarouf Ji-Long Chen Ji-Long Chen |
| author_facet | Jiayin Liu Jiayin Liu Yiming Wang Yiming Wang Meichun Zheng Meichun Zheng Jiayuan Du Jiayuan Du Mohamed Maarouf Mohamed Maarouf Ji-Long Chen Ji-Long Chen |
| author_sort | Jiayin Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with a covalently closed circular structure, lacking 5’-caps or 3’-poly(A) tails. They are relatively conserved, highly stable, and often exhibit tissue- or cell-specific production in eukaryotic cells. Based on the advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, multiple reports have suggested that viruses and other microorganisms may encode circRNA-like molecules, providing new insights into the physiological and pathological roles of circRNAs. The innate immune system functions as the body’s primary defense mechanism against viral infections. It detects pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and activates signaling pathways to suppress viral replication and limit their spread. CircRNAs are involved in regulation of the host innate immune signaling pathways and play essential roles in viral pathogenesis. It has been shown that circRNAs can regulate gene expression by acting as miRNA sponges or protein sponges, or encoding small proteins in specific cases. For example, previous studies have revealed that circRNAs participate in the host antiviral immune response through the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network by acting as miRNA sponges. This review highlights research progress in the regulation and functions of host- and virus-encoded circRNAs in host-virus interactions, as well as their potential as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in clinical applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e58b321c869842799cf2c0a86e7b4014 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2235-2988 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology |
| spelling | doaj-art-e58b321c869842799cf2c0a86e7b40142025-08-20T02:59:28ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology2235-29882025-03-011510.3389/fcimb.2025.15642581564258Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesisJiayin Liu0Jiayin Liu1Yiming Wang2Yiming Wang3Meichun Zheng4Meichun Zheng5Jiayuan Du6Jiayuan Du7Mohamed Maarouf8Mohamed Maarouf9Ji-Long Chen10Ji-Long Chen11Key Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Infection and Immunology of Fujian Province, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Infection and Immunology of Fujian Province, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Infection and Immunology of Fujian Province, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Infection and Immunology of Fujian Province, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Infection and Immunology of Fujian Province, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Animal Pathogen Infection and Immunology of Fujian Province, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaKey Laboratory of Fujian-Taiwan Animal Pathogen Biology, College of Animal Sciences, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, ChinaCircular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs with a covalently closed circular structure, lacking 5’-caps or 3’-poly(A) tails. They are relatively conserved, highly stable, and often exhibit tissue- or cell-specific production in eukaryotic cells. Based on the advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatics, multiple reports have suggested that viruses and other microorganisms may encode circRNA-like molecules, providing new insights into the physiological and pathological roles of circRNAs. The innate immune system functions as the body’s primary defense mechanism against viral infections. It detects pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) and activates signaling pathways to suppress viral replication and limit their spread. CircRNAs are involved in regulation of the host innate immune signaling pathways and play essential roles in viral pathogenesis. It has been shown that circRNAs can regulate gene expression by acting as miRNA sponges or protein sponges, or encoding small proteins in specific cases. For example, previous studies have revealed that circRNAs participate in the host antiviral immune response through the competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network by acting as miRNA sponges. This review highlights research progress in the regulation and functions of host- and virus-encoded circRNAs in host-virus interactions, as well as their potential as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in clinical applications.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1564258/fullCircRNAshost-virus interactionvirus infectioninfluenzaoncogenic virus |
| spellingShingle | Jiayin Liu Jiayin Liu Yiming Wang Yiming Wang Meichun Zheng Meichun Zheng Jiayuan Du Jiayuan Du Mohamed Maarouf Mohamed Maarouf Ji-Long Chen Ji-Long Chen Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesis Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology CircRNAs host-virus interaction virus infection influenza oncogenic virus |
| title | Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesis |
| title_full | Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesis |
| title_fullStr | Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesis |
| title_short | Roles of circRNAs in viral pathogenesis |
| title_sort | roles of circrnas in viral pathogenesis |
| topic | CircRNAs host-virus interaction virus infection influenza oncogenic virus |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2025.1564258/full |
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