ABSTRACT
Purpose: We summarized the existing studies to elaborate the biogenesis and function of circRNAs, the effect of aberrant circRNAs expression in the mechanism of inflammation and diabetic retinopathy (DR) respectively and further explored the vital roles of circRNAs in inflammation involved in DR. Methods: We conducted a systematical literature search of abundant electronic databases (PubMed, GeneMedical and MEDLINE) up to August 2021. Results: In this review, we exhibited the biogenesis and function of circRNAs and highlighted the components of inflammatory mediators implicated in DR. Numerous circRNAs, such as circHIPK3, circZNF609, circRNA_0084043, circ_0002570, circ_0041795, circEhmt1 and circ-ITCH were discovered to play vital roles in inflammation involved in DR, which provided new ideas for diagnosis and treatment of DR. Moreover, we proposed not only the epigenetic functions of circRNAs but also novel forms of the inflammatory response, including pyroptosis, to inspire further exploration and creative research in this field. Conclusion: CircRNAs were implicated in the progression and development of inflammation in DR via aberrant expression and modulation of gene expression, serving as an emerging star with potential therapeutic targets.
Authors’ contribution
All authors contributed significantly to this work. SH was participated in all aspects of this research involving data analysis, article design and paper writing. TS and CG retrieved the literature and revised the manuscript. QQ contributed to the article design, supervision of the research, data analyses and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Available of data and materials
All data generated or analyzed in this study are included in this article.
Consent for publication
The manuscript is approved by all authors for publication.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Supplementary materials
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