Nuclear export of circular RNA
Circular RNAs (circRNAs), which are increasingly being implicated in a variety of functions in normal and cancerous cells1–5, are formed by back-splicing of precursor mRNAs in the nucleus6–10. circRNAs are predominantly localized in the cytoplasm, indicating that they must be exported from the nucleus. Here we identify a pathway that is specific for the nuclear export of circular RNA. This pathway requires Ran-GTP, exportin-2 and IGF2BP1. Enhancing the nuclear Ran-GTP gradient by depletion or chemical inhibition of the major protein exporter CRM1 selectively increases the nuclear e...