Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are long, covalently closed RNA molecules with unique properties. Most of them are thought to function as competitive endogenous RNAs, interacting with microRNA, DNA, and proteins to regulate gene expression both in health and in various pathologies. Recently, Maxim P. Nikitin described the phenomenon of strand commutation, the interaction of weakly complementary nucleic acid (NA) molecules, demonstrating in vitro that their role can be compared with classical complementary interactions. This discovery may be particularly important for understanding the functions of circRNAs as competitive endogenous RNAs. Given the resistance of circRNAs to nucleases compared with linear RNAs, their contribution to regulating interactions with NAs and proteins, including those with low affinity, may be quite significant. An analysis of possible circRNA interactions with NAs and proteins is presented. The review includes data from 35 published research results and systematic reviews available in the PubMed database. Conclusion. We believe that studying the role of circRNAs as regulators of gene expression, including due to low-affinity interactions, will allow us to understand how they form regulatory networks and thus open new possibilities for the future development of diagnostic and therapeutic methods for various diseases.
Filippenkov et al. (Mon,) studied this question.