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Circular RNAs pp 119–130Cite as

Circular RNAs in Blood

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Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1087))

Abstract

Recent advances in RNA sequencing and bioinformatic analysis have allowed the development of a new research field: circular RNAs (circRNAs). These members of the non-coding transcriptome are generated by backsplicing, which results in a covalently closed, single-stranded RNA molecule. To date, thousands of circRNAs have been identified in different human cell types. CircRNAs are evolutionarily conserved, highly stable, cell-/developmental stage-specific and have longer half-lives compared with linear RNAs. Interestingly, different studies have demonstrated that circRNAs are abundantly expressed in the bloodstream. In this chapter, we review the current knowledge of circRNA biology in blood cells and the cell-free compartment, including extracellular vesicles. The potential clinical application of blood circRNAs in the biomarker and therapy fields is also discussed. Finally, perspectives for future studies are proposed.

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Acknowledgements

DdG-C was a recipient of Juan de la Cierva-Incorporación grants from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (IJCI-2016-29393). CIBER Cardiovascular (CB16/11/00403 to DdG-C and VL-C) is a project of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

VLl-C and DdG-C are members of the CardiolincTM network.

Competing Financial Interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain

    Angela Vea, Vicenta Llorente-Cortes & David de Gonzalo-Calvo

  2. Institute of Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB) – Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain

    Vicenta Llorente-Cortes & David de Gonzalo-Calvo

  3. CIBERCV, Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    Vicenta Llorente-Cortes & David de Gonzalo-Calvo

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  1. Angela Vea
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  2. Vicenta Llorente-Cortes
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  3. David de Gonzalo-Calvo
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science, Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China

    Junjie Xiao

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Vea, A., Llorente-Cortes, V., de Gonzalo-Calvo, D. (2018). Circular RNAs in Blood. In: Xiao, J. (eds) Circular RNAs. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1087. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1426-1_10

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