{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nRecent evidence in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) implicates a deregulated circular RNA mechanism involving miR‐548, a member of the MIR548 family that includes MIR548A1. In HCC tissues and cell lines, the upregulation of circ_0008450 contributes to tumor progression by acting as a molecular sponge for miR‐548p. This sequestration suppresses the tumor‐suppressive activity of miR‐548, leading to increased cell viability, migration, invasion, and reduced apoptosis, which collectively associate with poorer long‐term survival in patients."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nIn a different biological context, a separate study uncovered that proper sperm function depends critically on the stability of the axonemal microtubule doublets. The coiled-coil domain-containing protein CCDC176 was shown to localize asymmetrically along the sperm axoneme and to stabilize specific microtubule doublets (MTDs 1 and 9) during sperm maturation. Loss of CCDC176 function led to flagellar defects that disrupted sperm beat patterns and motility, ultimately causing male infertility."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n\n"}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\nFurther highlighting the complexity of flagellar regulation, another investigation demonstrated that BBOF1 plays an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the sperm flagellum by interacting with both axonemal components and outer dense fiber proteins. BBOF1 ensures the stability of proteins critical for the structural cohesiveness of the flagellum, and its absence results in the loss of specific microtubule doublets, diminished sperm motility, and compromised fertilization capacity."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "3"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": ""}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Juan Zhang, Yuxia Chang, Lijun Xu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Elevated expression of circular RNA circ_0008450 predicts dismal prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma and regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, and invasion via sponging miR-548p."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Cell Biochem (2019)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1002/jcb.28224"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.28224"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "30556306"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30556306"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Chao Liu, Qianchun Wang, Lusheng Gu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "CCDC176 stabilizes microtubule doublets 1 and 9 to ensure proper sperm movement."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Curr Biol (2023)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.079"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.06.079"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "37494937"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37494937"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Huiwen Cao, Haomang Xu, Yiqing Zhou, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "BBOF1 is required for sperm motility and male fertility by stabilizing the flagellar axoneme in mice."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cell Mol Life Sci (2023)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s00018-023-04800-0"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-023-04800-0"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "37198331"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37198331"}]}]}]}