title: Gene silencing in mammals by small interfering RNAs.
abstract: Among the 3 billion base pairs of the human genome, there are approximately 30,000-40,000 protein-coding genes, but the function of at least half of them remains unknown. A new tool - short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) - has now been developed for systematically deciphering the functions and interactions of these thousands of genes. siRNAs are an intermediate of RNA interference, the process by which double-stranded RNA silences homologous genes. Although the use of siRNAs to silence genes in vertebrate cells was only reported a year ago, the emerging literature indicates that most vertebrate genes can be studied with this technology.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020868:Gene Silencing / Q000502:physiology*; D018390:Gene Targeting; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D010944:Plants; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000502:physiology; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000502:physiology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000628:therapy
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering