title: High-content siRNA screening for target identification and validation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Automated microscopy and image analysis have progressed tremendously over the past 10 years and opened up a new era of high-content screening. In parallel, RNA interference (RNAi) has revolutionized the functional analysis of genes.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The focus of this review is screening of RNAi libraries, and in particular in screening of short interfering RNA (siRNA) libraries for target identification and validation in mammalian cell systems.
  
  
  METHODS
  Recent literature of high-content siRNA screening in oncology, in intracellular trafficking and infection biology, and in neurobiology is reviewed and placed in the context of a discussion on hit verification.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Various methods have been established for the application of RNAi in mammalian cells also, which allows efficient and reproducible silencing of individual genes to gain functional information on each individual gene. Complex multi-parametric cell-based assays, combined with both technologies, provide an extraordinary valuable tool to help understand biological and pathological processes in a systematic way and discover new targets for pharmaceutical exploitation.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), HT-Technology Development Studio (TDS), Pfotenhauerstrasse 108, D-01307 Dresden, Germany +49 351 210 2918 ; +49 351 210 1609 ; korn@mpi-cbg.de.
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Krausz
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Korn