Circular RNA in Non-small Cell Lung Carcinoma: Identification of Targets and New Treatment Modalities

Abstract

Despite availability of several treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy and immunotherapy, the survival rate of patients for five years is in the range of 22%. Therefore, identification of new targets and treatment modalities for this disease is an important issue. In this context, we screened the PubMed database for up-regulated circular RNAs (circRNAs) which promote growth of NSCLC in preclinical models in vitro as well as in vivo xenograft models in immuno-compromised mice. This approach led to potential targets for further validation and inhibition with small molecules or antibody-derived entities. In case of preclinical validation, the corresponding circRNAs can be inhibited with small interfering RNAs (siRNA) or short hairpin RNAs (shRNA). The identified circRNAs act by sponging microRNAs (miRs) preventing cleavage of the mRNA of the corresponding targets. We identified nine circRNAs up-regulating transmembrane receptors, five circRNAs increasing expression of secreted proteins, nine circRNAs promoting expression of components of signaling pathways, six circRNAs involved in regulation of splicing and RNA processing, six circRNAs up-regulating actin-related and RNA processing components, seven circRNAs increasing the steady-state levels of transcription factors, two circRNAs increasing high-mobility group proteins, four circRNAs increasing components of the epigenetic modification system and three circRNAs up-regulating protein components of additional systems.