Research progress in regulatory mechanism and treatment of circular RNA for coronary heart disease

Circular RNA (circRNA) is a non-coding RNA that commonly targets the regulation of small RNA (miRNA) or messenger RNA (mRNA), instead of direct translation of proteins. It participates in several pathological processes of coronary heart disease (CHD) involving atherosclerosis, immune response, angiogenesis, apoptosis, cell proliferation, cellular senescence and autophagy. Moreover, the circRNA/miRNA/mRNA interaction network based on circRNA helps to systematically and dynamically understand the occurrence and development of CHD. Through drug intervention, artificial overexpression/knockdown of circRNA expression, or sequence editing, circRNA also provides some new target and strategy for the precise treatment of CHD. However, current studies about mechanisms and treatment of circRNA for CHD are still in their infancy, and more clear circRNA biomarkers and therapeutic targets still need to be confirmed by further in-depth researches in the future.