Fig. 1
From: Circular RNAs in renal cell carcinoma: implications for tumorigenesis, diagnosis, and therapy
Biogenesis and functions of circular RNAs (circRNAs). The biogenesis of circRNAs involves the noncanonical back-splicing process, which generates three types of circRNAs: ecircRNAs, ciRNAs, and EIciRNAs. TricRNAs are another type of circRNA that are generated via the splicing of pre-tRNA. CircRNA biogenesis competes with linear pre-mRNA splicing. CircRNAs enhance the transcription and splicing of their parental genes by interacting with RNA pol II or U1 small nuclear snRNP. CircRNAs act as miRNA sponges to regulate the expression of relevant target genes. CircRNAs bind to RBPs to mediate their actions. CircRNAs act as protein scaffolds to promote the binding of a substrate to an enzyme. CircRNAs can be translated into proteins