title: Overview of gene silencing by RNA interference.
abstract: The potential of harnessing RNA interference (RNAi) for sequence-specific gene silencing has generated much excitement and progress in the field. Recent advances in RNAi technology suggest that RNAi-based approaches may soon become an effective therapeutic strategy against a myriad of diseases. This overview provides a brief description of important considerations when designing an RNAi-based method for gene silencing and therapeutic development: (a) mechanistic aspects of RNAi-mediated gene silencing in mammalian cells; (b) structural requirements for potent siRNA duplexes; (c) off-target effects and interferon responses; and (d) effective delivery of RNAi-inducing agents. Promising therapeutic applications of RNAi that are currently in the developmental pipeline are also described.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: John J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Rossi