CircRNAs as a Novel Class of Potential Diagnostic Biomarkers in Bipolar Disorders

Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a severe mood disorder with uncertain causes and debilitating signs and symptoms. Gene expression is crucial to the pathophysiology of BD and could be influenced by genetic or epigenetic factors, by either direct modification of mRNA templates or by regulation of post-transcriptional translation. Recent evidence has shown that several critical processes in psychiatric diseases, such as neuronal activity or plasticity, synaptic transmission, and neuronal depolarization, have all been linked to circular RNAs (circRNAs). The circRNA profile of neuronal cells, which may be easily ascertained by a liquid biopsy, may shed light on the molecular pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders, including BD. This approach could aid in future development in diagnosis and treatment. In this review, we provide an in-depth understanding of the roles of circRNAs in the pathophysiology of BD and offer new insight into their potential as emerging diagnostic tools and therapeutic targets.