RNA interference in mammalian cell systems.
In the last decade, few areas of biology have been transformed as thoroughly as RNA molecular biology. Without any doubt, one of the most significant advances has been the discovery of small (20-30 nucleotide) noncoding RNAs that regulate genes and genomes. The effects of small RNAs on gene expression and control are generally inhibitory, and the corresponding regulatory mechanisms are therefore collectively subsumed under the heading of RNA silencing and/or RNA interference. Two primary categories of these small RNAs - short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) - act in both somatic and germline lineages of eukaryotic species to regulate endogenous genes and to defend the genome from invasive nucleic acids. Recent advances have revealed unexpected diversity in their biogenesis pathways and the regulatory mechanisms that they access. Our understanding of siRNA and miRNA-based regulation has direct implications for fundamental biology as well as disease aetiology and treatment as it is discussed in this review on 'new techniques in molecular biology'.
Paediatric Endocrinology/Diabetology and Metabolism, University Children's Hospital, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland.
Didier
D
Lochmatter
Primus-E
PE
Mullis
D000818:Animals; D020868:Gene Silencing; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques / Q000009:adverse effects; D015316:Genetic Therapy / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008967:Molecular Biology / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense / Q000627:therapeutic use; D034622:RNA Interference; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000627:therapeutic use; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000627:therapeutic use
D035683:MicroRNAs; D016376:Oligonucleotides, Antisense; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D022661:RNA, Untranslated