ArticleNature microbiology2026
HIV-1-encoded circular RNA enhances viral transcription through Tat binding.
Article in Nature microbiology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Circular RNA functions in HIV-1 infection.RNA biology · 2026Review
- Generation of precise and accurate engineered circRNAs using enzymatic ligation.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Molecular arms races at the virus-host splicing interface and their pathogenic implications.Frontiers in microbiology · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are single-stranded RNAs that form a covalently closed loop without 5' and 3' ends. From their own genomes, RNA viruses can encode circRNAs that play important roles during infection, but whether this is the case for HIV remains unclear. Here we detect an HIV-1-encoded viral circRNA (termed circHIV) in plasma from 18 people living with HIV and in infected primary cells and T-cell lines using RT-qPCR and northern blot. We find that this viral circRNA is packaged within HIV-1 virions and binds to the HIV-1 Tat protein upon expression in cells, which enhances transcription from the viral promoter, as shown by RNA immunoprecipitation and in vitro pulldown assays. Our study sheds light on a previously overlooked component of HIV-1 transcription, revealing the ability of circRNAs to act as transcriptional regulators that drive viral pathogenesis.
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Registered trials
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