Circular RNA circCDYL2 drives invasion and migration in nasopharyngeal carcinoma

A circular RNA previously linked to radiotherapy resistance in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) has now been shown to also promote the invasion and migration of NPC cells, according to a study published in Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. The work identifies a new regulatory circuit, the circCDYL2/PTBP1/CDC42 axis, that the authors propose as a potential source of molecular markers and therapeutic targets for clinical intervention.

Yet the biological functions and regulatory mechanisms of many circRNAs remain poorly understood. In a previous study, the research team found that circCDYL2 is highly expressed in NPC tissues and that it promotes resistance to radiotherapy by enhancing homologous recombination repair, a DNA repair pathway.

In the new study, the researchers report that circCDYL2 also strengthens the invasive and migratory abilities of NPC cells. Mechanistically, they describe the molecule as acting like a scaffold. Through reverse complementary base pairing, circCDYL2 binds to the 3′-untranslated region of the messenger RNA that encodes CDC42, a protein involved in controlling the cell’s internal skeleton.

At the same time, circCDYL2 recruits a protein called polypyrimidine tract-binding protein 1, or PTBP1, to that same region of the CDC42 mRNA. According to the authors, this dual binding stabilizes CDC42 mRNA, allowing more of the CDC42 protein pathway activity that drives cytoskeletal remodeling inside NPC cells. The remodeled cytoskeleton reduces cellular stiffness and adhesion, changes that ultimately enhance the cells’ capacity to invade and migrate.

The findings tie together RNA stability, cytoskeletal architecture and metastatic-like behavior in a single regulatory axis. The authors state that the circCDYL2/PTBP1/CDC42 pathway represents a novel mechanism in NPC progression and may point toward molecular markers and therapeutic targets for clinical intervention in the disease.

Subject of Research: How the circular RNA circCDYL2 promotes invasion and migration in nasopharyngeal carcinoma through PTBP1-mediated stabilization of CDC42 mRNA and cytoskeletal remodeling

Article Title: circCDYL2 promotes invasion and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma via enhancing CDC42-mediated cytoskeletal remodeling

Article References: Qu, H., Fan, C., Wang, Y., Zhang, X., Mo, Y., Peng, Z., Ge, J., Wang, D., Tan, M., Xiong, W., Chen, P., Yan, Q., & Zeng, Z. (2026). circCDYL2 promotes invasion and migration of nasopharyngeal carcinoma via enhancing CDC42-mediated cytoskeletal remodeling. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-026-06483-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s00018-026-06483-9

Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, circCDYL2, circular RNA, CDC42, PTBP1, mRNA stability, cytoskeletal remodeling, cell invasion, cell migration, cancer progression, promotes, invasion