Cited by 2,905Circular RNAs in diseasesRNA Research and SplicingCancer-related molecular mechanisms research

Exon-intron circular RNAs regulate transcription in the nucleus

Li, Zhaoyong, Huang, Chuan, Bao, Chun, Chen, Liang, Lin, Mei, Wang, Xiaolin, Zhong, Guolin, Yu, Bin +10 more·2015·Nature Structural & Molecular Biology

Abstract

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have numerous roles in development and disease, and one of the prominent roles is to regulate gene expression. A vast number of circular RNAs (circRNAs) have been identified, and some have been shown to function as microRNA sponges in animal cells. Here, we report a class of circRNAs associated with RNA polymerase II in human cells. In these circRNAs, exons are circularized with introns 'retained' between exons; we term them exon-intron circRNAs or EIciRNAs. EIciRNAs predominantly localize in the nucleus, interact with U1 snRNP and promote transcription of their parental genes. Our findings reveal a new role for circRNAs in regulating gene expression in the nucleus, in which EIciRNAs enhance the expression of their parental genes in cis, and highlight a regulatory strategy for transcriptional control via specific RNA-RNA interaction between U1 snRNA and EIciRNAs.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nsmb.2959

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  • Three types of circRNAs have been reported: circular intronic RNAs (ciRNAs), retained-intron or exon-intron circRNAs (EIciRNAs), and intergenic circRNAs.

    “Three types of circRNAs have been reported, which are produced via different molecular processes, including circular intronic RNAs (ciR-NAs), retained-intron or exon-intron circRNAs (EIciRNAs), and intergenic circRNAs [40,41] (Fig. 1).”
  • EIciRNAs promote gene transcription through interactions with U1 small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) and RNA polymerase II (Pol II).

    “EIciRNAs (a subclass of circRNAs) have been shown to promote gene transcription through interactions with U1 small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) and RNA polymerase II (Pol II) [41].”
  • CircRNAs may act as miRNA sponges by interacting with RBPs, and regulating mRNA transcription, splicing, and translation.

    “CircRNAs may act as miRNA sponges by interacting with RBPs, and regulating mRNA transcription, splicing, and translation [14,41,51].”

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Authors
Li, Z., Huang, C., Bao, C., Chen, L., Lin, M., Wang, X., Zhong, G., Yu, B., Hu, W., Dai, L., Zhu, P., Chang, Z., Wu, Q., Zhao, Y., Jia, Y., Xu, P., Liu, H., & Shan, G.
Affiliations
  • University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • Central China Normal University (CN)
Corresponding author
Shan, Ge
Venue
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology
Published
2015-02-09
Volume
22
Issue
3
Pages
256-264
ISSN
  • 1545-9985 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-9993
OpenAlex
W1966411071
Cited by
2,905
References
50
Citations by year
2026: 130 · 2025: 196 · 2024: 276 · 2023: 275 · 2022: 380 · 2021: 447 · 2020: 410 · 2019: 302 · 2018: 234 · 2017: 138 · 2016: 72 · 2015: 37 · 2012: 1
FWCI
69.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Update notices
erratum (2017-02-01)
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Nature Structural & Molecular Biology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Circular RNAs in diseases
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Research and Splicing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer-related molecular mechanisms research
Keywords
circular RNA, transcriptional regulation, RNA polymerase II, U1 snRNP, U1 snRNA, RNA-RNA interactions, cis-regulation, gene expression regulation, nuclear localization
MeSH terms
Base Sequence, Exons, Gene Expression Regulation, HeLa Cells, Humans, Introns, Models, Genetic, Models, Molecular, Molecular Sequence Data, Nucleic Acid Conformation, RNA Polymerase II, Sequence Analysis, RNA, RNA, Untranslated, HEK293 Cells

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