RNAi-mediated knockingdown of rlpk2 gene retarded soybean leaf senescence

Leaf senescence that occurs in the last stage of leaf development is a genetically programmed process. It is very significant to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that control the initiation and progression of leaf senescence and the way the senescence signal is transduced. In a previous study on artificially induced soybean leaf senescence, we cloned a novel gene designated rlpk2 (Genbank Accession No. AY687391) that encodes a leucine-rich repeat (LRR) receptor like protein kinase. The expression level of rlpk2 gene was shown to be strongly up-regulated during both the natural leaf senescence process in this report and the artificially induced primary-leaf-senescence process in our previous work. The RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knocking-down of rlpk2 dramatically retarded both the natural and nutrient deficiency-induced leaf senescence in transgenic soybean. The transgenic leaves showed more cell-aggregated surface structure and higher content of chlorophyll.     

Z25, a novel intronic snoRNA encoded in mammalian nucleolin gene

A novel intronic small nucleolar RNA ( snoRNA) , termed Z25, was identified from mammals by-computer analysis and experimental sequence methods. Z25 is a 69 nucleotides long RNA containing typical boxC/D motifs, terminal stem and an 11-nucleotide sequence complementary to 18S rRNA. In theory, Z25 functions as an RNA guide for the 2'-0-ribose methylation of adenine at position 1678 (human 18S rRNA coordinate) in 18S rRNA. Z25 snoRNA gene was found to be located in the fifth intron of nucleolin gene of human, mouse and rat, demonstrating that the mammalian nucleoline gene is a host gene encoding multiple snoRNAs.     

RNA interference-mediated inhibition of Hepatitis B Virus replication

Persistent and recurrent infection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) represents one of the most common and severe viral infections of humans, and has caused a formidable health problem in the affected countries. Currently used antiviral drugs have a very limited success on controlling HBV replication and infection. RNA interference (RNAi), a process by which double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) directs sequence-specific degradation of target mRNA in mammalian and plant cells, has recently been used to knockdown gene expression in various species. In this study, we sought to determine whether RNAi-mediated silencing of HBV viral gene expression could lead to the effective inhibition of HBV replication. We first developed RNAi vectors that expressed small interfering RNA (siRNA) and targeted the HBV core or surface gene sequence. Our results demonstrated that these specific siRNAs efficiently reduced the levels of corresponding viral RNAs and proteins, and thus suppressed viral replication. Treatment with siRNA gave the greatest reduction in the levels of HBsAg (92%) and in HBeAg (85%) respectively in the cultured cell medium. Our findings further demonstrated that the RNAi-mediated antiviral effect was sequence-specific and dose-dependent. Therefore, our findings strongly suggest that RNAi-mediated silencing of HBV viral genes could effectively inhibit the replication of HBV, hence RNAi-based strategy should be further explored as a more efficacious antiviral therapy of HBV infection.     

RNA干涉研究进展

RNA干涉(RNAi)是由双链RNA(dsRNA)引起的序列特异性基因沉默,这是目前研究的热点,具有广阔的应用前景.对RNAi的分子机制、生物功能、研究策略及RNAi技术在基因功能、基因治疗、植物品质改良等方面的应用进行了综述.     

RNA干扰技术及其在医学研究中的应用

RNA干扰(RNAi)是指生物体内利用双链RNA(dsRNA)诱导同源靶基因的mRNA特异性降解,从而导致转录后基因沉默的现象.RNAi主要通过核酸酶Dicer切割dsRNA生成21-23 nt的小干扰RNA(siRNA),继而由siRNA识别并靶向降解同源靶基因mRNA,从而抑制靶基因的蛋白表达.近年来,RNAi技术在医学研究中的广泛应用均取得了显著的基因沉默效果,RNAi以其高特异性、高效性等显著优势将成为研究基因功能的全新手段.文中综述了该技术在医学研究中的应用.     

双链RNA对基因表达的抑制及其应用

RNAi(RNA interference)为研究未知功能基因提供了新的反向遗传学手段;并能应用于人类的基因治疗.文中就RNAi的研究进展、作用机制及其应用进行了评述,并与基因敲除及反义RNA抑制进行了比较.     

RNA干扰及其在哺乳动物中的应用进展

通过双链RNA(dsRNA)在植物、线虫、果蝇等中进行RNA干扰(RNAi)已获得了很大的成功,但将其应用于哺乳动物却遇到了一定困难.随着各种转染方法的日益改进,以及各种小干扰RNAs(siRNAs)表达载体的出现和不断优化,它们在体内的转录产物(长约21～23nt的双链siRNAs)能特异性抑制哺乳动物基因的表达,使得RNAi应用于哺乳动物系统成为可能. RNAi正在改变以往人们研究哺乳动物细胞基因功能的方式.不仅如此,RNAi正在向病毒、癌症、基因药物研制等方向迅猛发展,文中对RNA干扰及其在哺乳动物中的应用进展进行了综述.     

Nanocarriers for siRNA delivery to overcome cancer multidrug resistance

Multidrug resistance(MDR)is an extremely complexed phenomenon in tumor chemotherapy and is one of the major obstacles for successful treatment.Discovery of RNA interference(RNAi)offers a new strategy with great potential to reverse MDR.Specific genes,which contribute to the emerging of MDR,can be silenced by RNAi.However,many natural barriers have to be overcome for efficient and safe delivery of siRNA.In recent years,the various kinds of nanocarriers,such as liposomes,cationic polymers,and inorganic materials,have been developed to deliver siRNA and show good results in reversing MDR.This review mainly summarizes the barriers in siRNA delivery and recent progress in designing nanotechnology-based siRNA delivery systems to overcome tumor MDR.     

RNA干涉及其在肿瘤研究中的应用

RNAi是双链RNA介导的转录后基因沉默的过程，是一种高效的高特异性抑制基因表达的新途径。通过双链小干涉RNA(siRNA)与一系列蛋白质结合形成siRNA诱导的沉默复合体(RISC)并活化，然后，RISC对靶基因进行识别、降解。与反义方法相比，siRNA具有更好的抑制效果。RNAi的应用将为癌症的基因治疗提供新的方法。     

A large-scale RNAi screen in human cells identifies new components of the p53 pathway

RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful new tool with which to perform loss-of-function genetic screens in lower organisms and can greatly facilitate the identification of components of cellular signalling pathways. In mammalian cells, such screens have been hampered by a lack of suitable tools that can be used on a large scale. We and others have recently developed expression vectors to direct the synthesis of short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) that act as short interfering RNA (siRNA)-like molecules to stably suppress gene expression. Here we report the construction of a set of retroviral vectors encoding 23,742 distinct shRNAs, which target 7,914 different human genes for suppression. We use this RNAi library in human cells to identify one known and five new modulators of p53-dependent proliferation arrest. Suppression of these genes confers resistance to both p53-dependent and p19ARF-dependent proliferation arrest, and abolishes a DNA-damage-induced G1 cell-cycle arrest. Furthermore, we describe siRNA bar-code screens to rapidly identify individual siRNA vectors associated with a specific phenotype. These new tools will greatly facilitate large-scale loss-of-function genetic screens in mammalian cells.     

RNAi技术研究进展

RNAi是由双链RNA引起的基因沉默现象，它通过降解具有同源序列的mRNA起作用，特殊设计的siRNA能使目的基因发生特异性沉默．目前，获得siRNA已经非常方便，导入方式最常用的是微注射．RNAi技术有编码区RNAi和启动子区RNAi两大类，均可以产生类似基因敲除的功能。在家蚕功能基因的研究中已经使用了这种方法．随着RNAi技术的不断进步，RNAi可广泛地应用到功能基因组学，药物靶点筛选，疾病治疗等方面．     

重组腺病毒介导RNA干扰人DLK1基因表达的研究

构建抑制人DLK1基因表达的重组腺病毒载体,利用腺病毒载体介导的RNA干扰技术评价其在肝癌细胞株中的基因沉默效应.将针对人DLK1基因的RNAi寡核苷酸序列,连接到腺病毒穿梭质粒中,在含有腺病毒骨架质粒pAdEasy-1的大肠杆菌BJ5183内进行同源重组.重组腺病毒载体在HEK-293细胞中包装扩增,得到高滴度的重组腺病毒.通过绿色荧光蛋白示踪腺病毒的感染效果,并通过荧光实时RT-PCR,western blot的方法证实重组腺病毒能够显著抑制DLK1基因在肝癌细胞株中的表达.     

siRNA分子设计研究进展

为了设计高效的siRNA（Short interfering Ribonucleic Acid）分子、最大限度地减少siRNA分子的脱靶效应（off-target effects），siRNA分子设计已经成为热门研究领域。siRNA分子设计主要是基于序列和能量特征，以及靶标的二级结构特征，基于这些特征设计的siRNA分子已经有了较高的抑制基因表达的效率。RNAi（RNA interference）在
基因发现以及疾病治疗领域已有非常广泛的应用，就siRNA分子设计近年的研究进展作一综述，为今后siRNA研究提供参考。     

A resource for large-scale RNA-interference-based screens in mammals

Gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi) in mammalian cells using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) has become a valuable genetic tool. Here, we report the construction and application of a shRNA expression library targeting 9,610 human and 5,563 mouse genes. This library is presently composed of about 28,000 sequence-verified shRNA expression cassettes contained within multi-functional vectors, which permit shRNA cassettes to be packaged in retroviruses, tracked in mixed cell populations by means of DNA 'bar codes', and shuttled to customized vectors by bacterial mating. In order to validate the library, we used a genetic screen designed to report defects in human proteasome function. Our results suggest that our large-scale RNAi library can be used in specific, genetic applications in mammals, and will become a valuable resource for gene analysis and discovery.