Core Concepts
circHIPK3 acts as a competing endogenous RNA, sequestering IGF2BP2 to regulate gene expression and impact disease pathogenesis.
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) like circHIPK3 play a crucial role in gene regulation and disease pathogenesis. This study reveals how circHIPK3 competes with IGF2BP2 to stabilize target mRNAs, impacting cell proliferation and potentially cancer progression. Key findings include:
- Identification of an 11-mer motif in circHIPK3 that binds to IGF2BP2
- Validation of circHIPK3-IGF2BP2 interaction in bladder cancer cell lines
- circHIPK3's ability to nucleate multiple copies of IGF2BP2, influencing gene regulation
- Correlation of circHIPK3 expression with overall survival in bladder cancer patients
Stats
"By mining eCLIP datasets, we find that the 11-mer motif constitutes a strong binding site for IGF2BP2."
"Absolute copy number quantifications demonstrate that IGF2BP2 outnumbers circHIPK3 by orders of magnitude."
Quotes
"Our results suggest that circHIPK3 can sequester IGF2BP2 as a competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA), leading to target mRNA stabilization."
"Instead, we show that circHIPK3 can nucleate multiple copies of IGF2BP2, potentially via phase separation, to produce IGF2BP2 condensates."