Fig. 2: CircRNAs regulate the progression of NPC by functioning as miRNA sponges.
From: Emerging roles of circular RNAs in nasopharyngeal carcinoma: functions and implications
By binding to miRNAs, circRNAs can prevent them from targeting downstream mRNA, thereby affecting mRNA stability and/or translation. This mechanism allows circRNAs to regulate various biological behaviors in NPC, including promotion or inhibition of proliferation, invasion, migration, metastasis, apoptosis, angiogenesis, glycolysis, and stemness.
