Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs, also refer as miRNA sponges) hypothesis: ceRNAs regulate other RNA transcripts (e.g., PTEN) by competing for shared microRNAs.
[1] They are playing important roles in developmental, physiological and pathological processes, such as cancer.
Multiple classes of ncRNAs (lncRNAs, circRNAs, pseudogenes) and protein-coding mRNAs function as key ceRNAs (sponges) and to regulate the expression of mRNAs in plants and mammalian cells.
[2] This competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) databases and resources is a compilation of databases and web portals and servers used for ceRNA prediction and ceRNA networks.