Spatial expression analyses of the putative oncogene ciRS-7 in cancer reshape the microRNA sponge theory

Abstract

The circular RNA named ciRS-7 is overexpressed in human cancers, however, its spatial cellular expression patterns have not been explored. Here, the authors show that ciRS-7 is not expressed in colon cancer cells, but abundant in stromal cells within tumours, and that cancer-to-stromal cell ratios contribute to correlations between ciRS-7 and miR-7 target genes.