Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are single-stranded noncoding RNAs with a covalently closed loop structure. They are known for their stability, abundance, and highly conserved nature. Their expression is often specific to tissues or developmental stages. They interact with microRNAs (miRNAs) and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and they undergo N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A) modifications, further affecting gene transcription and translation. Increasing evidence over the past decades has revealed that dysregulated circRNA expression is associated with various neurological disorders, particularly the glioma, one of the most malignant tumors with a poor prognosis. Due to the presence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) and drug resistance, conventional therapeutic approaches have shown limited efficacy. Recently, increasing attention has been directed toward precisely targeted therapies, with circRNAs emerging as promising molecules for cancer treatment. Studies indicate that circRNAs play a key role in glioma proliferation and metastasis. Substantial evidence indicates that exosomes can package circRNAs and facilitate their transport across the BBB into brain tissue, highlighting the potential of circRNAs as therapeutic targets for glioma. This review summarizes circRNAs’ functional mechanisms, clinical application relevance, and current limitations. It offers future research directions in this evolving field, aiming to encourage further research on circRNAs’ therapeutic applications and contribute to the development of novel glioma-treatment strategies.

Background: Histology and Embryology (HE) are important basic medical courses, with complex, abstract content and difficult memorization of knowledge points, which leads to a decrease in students’ interest in learning. Therefore, how to improve students’ learning interest is worth serious consideration by teachers. This study aims to investigate the promoting effect of interesting teaching based on flipped classrooms and game teaching on the experimental teaching of HE. Methods: Implementing flipped classrooms and gamified teaching methods for the class of 2023 in clinical medicine. Before class, the teaching videos were uploaded to Moso Teach to guide students in self-directed learning. In class, each group discussed the experimental content on the digital platform, and the teacher supervised the classroom to guide and address queries. Later, some students were randomly selected to explain the morphological characteristics of the main structure on the podium, and the teacher recapitulated and assessed the performance of each group. Finally, the knowledge points of HE were carefully designed into classroom games to make the learning experience more engaging. The effectiveness of the flipped classroom and game-based teaching methods was assessed through surveys and comparisons of grades with those of students in the 2022 class who were taught using traditional methods. Results: In this study, 93.62% of the students reported an enhanced teaching effect after altering the experimental teaching method. Meanwhile, the proportion of students who did not understand the observation slices declined from 12.77% to 1.06%, while those who were not very active or passive declined from 43.62% to 21.28%. Importantly, the scores of experimental and final exams for the 2023 grade of students taught by interesting teaching method were significantly higher than those of the 2022 grade of students taught by traditional teaching method (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The application of flipped classroom and game teaching, piqued students’ curiosity, kindled their interest in learning, and amplified their learning enthusiasm and self-learning ability.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus is characterized by immune-mediated pancreatic β-cell loss and progressive impairment of insulin production. This study evaluated the effects of combined rituximab, a B-cell-directed therapy, and exendin-4, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist, on β-cell-related function and metabolic outcomes in experimental type 1 diabetes. Pancreatic islets isolated from NOD-scid mice were used for in vitro assessment of viability, metabolic activity, insulin secretion under high-glucose conditions, and gene expression. Female NOD mice were assigned to control, exendin-4, rituximab, or combination treatment groups and treated for approximately 20 weeks. Combined treatment showed the greatest increases in insulin-related responses in vitro. In vivo, it was associated with more stable fasting blood glucose levels, improved oral glucose tolerance, delayed progression to hyperglycemia, increased circulating insulin and C-peptide levels, and reduced glucagon, HbA1c, and LDL levels. Histological and molecular analyses further demonstrated reduced pancreatic inflammatory damage, reduced apoptosis-associated changes, and increased BrdU- and cytokeratin-18-associated signals within insulin-positive islet regions. These findings support further investigation of combined B-cell-directed and β-cell-supportive strategies for preserving islet function and delaying disease progression in type 1 diabetes.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant internal modification of eukaryotic RNA, and has increasingly been recognized as a critical regulator of gene expression at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. The m6A modification process is highly dynamic and reversible, governed by methyltransferase writers (e.g., METTL3, METTL14, WTAP), demethylase erasers (such as FTO and ALKBH5), and specific readers (including YTHDF and IGF2BP protein families) that interpret the modification and mediate its downstream effects. Accumulating evidence indicates that m6A-mediated regulation of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) plays a pivotal role in osteogenic differentiation, a process central to bone formation. Impaired osteogenesis, which contributes to decreased bone mass, is closely linked to the onset and progression of osteoporosis. This review summarizes recent progress on the interplay between m6A modification and ncRNAs in osteogenic differentiation, and outlines a regulatory framework, the m6A-ncRNA-target gene axis, that includes m6A modification, ncRNA interactions, and downstream signaling pathways, such as Wnt/β-catenin and BMP/Smad, and discusses their potential as biomarkers or therapeutic targets for osteoporosis, with the goal of providing new insights into the epigenetic mechanisms underlying osteoporosis and to identify potential molecular targets for future therapeutic strategies.