Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2025; 31(1): 99954
Published online Jan 7, 2025. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v31.i1.99954
Transfer RNA-derived small RNA serves as potential non-invasive diagnostic marker and a novel therapeutic target for acute pancreatitis
Jing Zhang, Chun-Lin Ou
Jing Zhang, Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410000, Hunan Province, China
Chun-Lin Ou, Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410008, Hunan Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang J contributed to writing - review & editing; Ou CL contributed to funding acquisition, project administration, and supervision; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Central South University Innovation-Driven Research Programme, No. 2023CXQD075.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Chun-Lin Ou, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, No. 87 Xiangya Road, Changsha 410008, Hunan Province, China. ouchunlin@csu.edu.cn
Received: August 3, 2024
Revised: October 24, 2024
Accepted: November 19, 2024
Published online: January 7, 2025
Processing time: 127 Days and 16.8 Hours
Abstract

Transfer RNA (tRNA)-derived fragments, a new type of tRNA-derived small RNA (tsRNA), can be cleaved from tRNA by enzymes to regulate target gene expression at the transcriptional and translational levels. tsRNAs are not only degradation fragments but also have biological functions, including those in immune inflammation, metabolic disorders, and cell death. tsRNA dysregulation is closely associated with multiple diseases, including various cancers and acute pancreatitis (AP). AP is a common gastrointestinal disease, and its incidence increases annually. AP development is associated with tsRNAs, which regulate cell injury and induce inflammation, especially pyroptosis and ferroptosis. Notably, serum tRF36 has the potential to serve as a non-invasive diagnostic biomarker and leads to pancreatic acinar cell ferroptosis causing inflammation to promote AP. We show the characteristics of tsRNAs and their diagnostic value and function in AP, and discuss the potential opportunities and challenges of using tsRNAs in clinical applications and research.

Keywords: Transfer RNA derived small RNAs; Acute pancreatitis; Liquid biopsy; Biomarker; Cell pyroptosis; Ferroptosis

Core Tip: The dysregulated expression of tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) in acute pancreatitis (AP) reveals the molecular mechanism by which tsRNAs affect the occurrence and development of AP, and can be used as diagnostic markers and potential therapeutic targets. In cell and animal models, the inhibition or overexpression of tsRNA has been shown to influence AP development. The results showed that tsRNAs accelerated AP progression by inducing an increase in inflammatory factors and promoting cell death (including pyroptosis and ferroptosis).