Circular RNAs: Unlocking new avenues in cardiometabolic disease management

Cardiometabolic diseases refer to a group of interrelated conditions that affect both the cardiovascular system and metabolic processes. These conditions represent a significant global health burden and often share common risk factors such as obesity, high cholesterol and insulin resistance. Cardiometabolic diseases include conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, coronary artery disease and stroke. Recent advancements in molecular biology have highlighted the pivotal role of circular RNAs (circRNAs) in the regulation of gene expression and cellular processes. These stable, covalently closed RNA molecules act as microRNA sponges, modulating the activity of key metabolic and cardiovascular pathways. This review explores the emerging potential of circRNAs as novel therapeutic targets in cardiometabolic disease, focusing on the mechanisms by which circRNAs influence disease progression, their utility as biomarkers for early diagnosis and prognosis and the innovative therapeutic strategies being developed to harness their regulatory functions. However research into circRNAs also comes with its unique set of challenges, relating to detection, quantification, annotation variability and functional characterisation. Despite these challenges the potential for circRNAs to advance understanding and treatment of disease continues to drive research forward, paving the way for new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to better manage cardiometabolic diseases.