Mammalian RNAi for the masses.
Just a couple of years ago, only biologists working with plants or Caenorhabditis elegans could use RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) technology to gain insight into gene function. However, the recent groundbreaking discovery that in vitro synthesized, 21- to 23-nucleotide, double-stranded RNAs can act as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to elicit gene-specific inhibition in mammalian cells has made RNAi possible in mammalian systems too. Reported only a year ago, mammalian RNAi is already changing our way of studying gene function in higher eukaryotes. And, a recent exciting advance allows delivery of siRNAs into mammalian cells by a DNA vector. In addition to providing a low-cost alternative to the chemically synthesized siRNAs, this DNA-vector-based strategy is capable of mediating stable target gene inhibition, thus allowing gene function analysis over an extended period of time.
Shi
Yang
Y
Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA. yang_shi@hms.harvard.edu
D000818:Animals; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D006801:Humans; D008322:Mammals / Q000235:genetics*; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism; D010957:Plasmids; D034622:RNA Interference; D012320:RNA Polymerase III / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism
D035683:MicroRNAs; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D012320:RNA Polymerase III