Research progress on circular RNAs

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) as a new type of non-coding RNA are special circular molecules with covalently closed 3 end and 5 end. Although they were previously discovered as errors in RNA splicing process and drew little attention, their unique properties, powerful functions and as potential disease biomarker are being increasingly acknowledged by scientists. Recently, circRNAs have become a hotspot in scientific field. In this review, we describe the biogenesis, classification, biological characteristics, functions and association with human disease of circRNAs. The emergence of circRNAs will provide a new way to study the pathogenesis of human disease, such as nervous system disease, tumor and ageing.