The Role of Circular RNAs in DNA Damage Response and Repair
by
, and
Angelos Papaspyropoulos
1,2,†, 
Orsalia Hazapis
1,†,
Nefeli Lagopati
1,2,
Aikaterini Polyzou
1,
Anastasios D. Papanastasiou
3,4,
Michalis Liontos
1,5,
Vassilis G. Gorgoulis
1,2,6,7,8,*
and
Athanassios Kotsinas
1,* 1
Molecular Carcinogenesis Group, Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School, National Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA), 75 Mikras Asias Str., Goudi, GR-11527 Athens, Greece
2
Biomedical Research Foundation, Academy of Athens, GR-11527 Athens, Greece
3
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of West Attica, GR-12462 Athens, Greece
4
Histopathology Unit, Biomedical Sciences Research Center ‘Alexander Fleming’, GR-16672 Vari, Greece
5
Oncology Unit, Department of Clinical Therapeutics, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Alexandra Hospital, GR-11528 Athens, Greece
6
Molecular and Clinical Cancer Sciences, Manchester Cancer Research Centre, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4GJ, UK
7
Center for New Biotechnologies and Precision Medicine, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, GR-11527 Athens, Greece
8
Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey, Surrey GU2 7YH, UK
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally.
Cancers 2021, 13(21), 5352; https://doi.org/10.3390/cancers13215352
Submission received: 8 September 2021
/
Revised: 15 October 2021
/
Accepted: 15 October 2021
/
Published: 26 October 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Circular RNAs: New Insights into the Molecular Biology of Cancer)
Simple Summary
The role of non-coding RNA, and particularly of circular RNA, in the DNA damage response and repair network is underappreciated. Given the vital role of this network in preserving the genomic integrity and consequently cellular homeostasis, the constantly increasing numbers of discovered circular RNAs and the increasing implication of these molecules in the function of this network unravel a new important field that may open new therapeutic opportunities, but also require detailed investigation.
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNA) comprise a distinct class of non-coding RNAs that are abundantly expressed in the cell. CircRNAs have the capacity to regulate gene expression by interacting with regulatory proteins and/or other classes of RNAs. While a vast number of circRNAs have been discovered, the majority still remains poorly characterized. Particularly, there is no detailed information on the identity and functional role of circRNAs that are transcribed from genes encoding components of the DNA damage response and repair (DDRR) network. In this article, we not only review the available published information on DDRR-related circRNAs, but also conduct a bioinformatic analysis on data obtained from public repositories to uncover deposited, yet uncharacterized circRNAs derived from components of the DDRR network. Finally, we interrogate for potential targets that are regulated by this class of molecules and look into potential functional implications.
