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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Sep 1.
Published in final edited form as: Mol Neurobiol. 2016 Aug 24;54(7):5156–5165. doi: 10.1007/s12035-016-0055-4

Figure 1. Three major subclasses of circRNAs.

Figure 1

Exonic circRNAs (ecircRNAs) consist of only exon(s) (usually less than five) and represent the most important group of circRNA class. EcircRNAs have cytoplasmatic location and may regulate microRNA and protein functions. Exon-intron circRNAs (EIciRNAs) are composed of at least two exons and one retained intron. EIciRNAs have nuclear localization and have been found to be able to regulate gene transcription in cis and probably also in trans. Intronic circRNAs (ciRNAs) are derived from intron lariats and are accumulated in the nucleus in which regulate gene transcription in cis.