RNA干扰:双链RNA引起的基因沉默机制——2006年诺贝尔生理学或医学奖成果简介

RNA干扰现象是指一种由双链RNA分子引起的基因沉默现象,在动植物中普遍存在。RNA干扰不仅在生物的抗病毒反应、抑制转座子活性以及其他许多重要生理活动的调节方面发挥至关重要的作用,而且在基因功能研究和疾病治疗方面也具有广阔的应用前景。鉴于上述原因,2名美国科学家——AndrewZ.Fire和CraigC.Mello,因发现RNA干扰现象而获得了2006年的诺贝尔生理学或医学奖。     

慢病毒载体及其介导的RNA干扰在基因治疗中的应用研究

主要就慢病毒载体及其介导的RNA干扰技术在基因治疗中的应用研究进行了综述,并对其在该领域具有的广阔前景进行了展望.慢病毒载体作为一种新型的载体,可有效地将携带的目的基因导入宿主细胞,并将其整合到宿主细胞基因组中,从而使目的基因得以持久稳定地表达.该载体因具有高感染性、高表达效率及不易诱发宿主免疫反应等优点,已成为基因治疗研究中的一个重要工具.RNA干扰技术可以特异性抑制或关闭特定基因的表达,因此该技术可广泛应用在基因功能探究和恶性肿瘤治疗等领域.由慢病毒载体介导的RNA干扰技术能持久、稳定、特异性地抑制各类细胞中特定基因的表达,在病毒感染、肿瘤等疾病的基因治疗中被广泛应用,成为生物医学领域的新热点.     

A conserved siRNA-degrading RNase negatively regulates RNA interference in C. elegans

In many organisms, introducing double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) causes the degradation of messenger RNA that is homologous to the trigger dsRNA--a process known as RNA interference. The dsRNA is cleaved into short interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which hybridize to homologous mRNAs and induce their degradation. dsRNAs vary in their ability to trigger RNA interference: many mRNA-targeting dsRNAs show weak phenotypes, and nearly all mRNAs of the Caenorhabditis elegans nervous system are refractory to RNA interference. C. elegans eri-1 was identified in a genetic screen for mutants with enhanced sensitivity to dsRNAs. Here we show that eri-1 encodes an evolutionarily conserved protein with domains homologous to nucleic-acid-binding and exonuclease proteins. After exposure to dsRNA or siRNAs, animals with eri-1 mutations accumulate more siRNAs than do wild-type animals. C. elegans ERI-1 and its human orthologue degrade siRNAs in vitro. In the nematode worm, ERI-1 is predominantly cytoplasmic and is expressed most highly in the gonad and a subset of neurons, suggesting that ERI-1 siRNase activity suppresses RNA interference more intensely in these tissues. Thus, ERI-1 is a negative regulator that may normally function to limit the duration, cell-type specificity or endogenous functions of RNA interference.     

A genetic link between co-suppression and RNA interference in C. elegans

Originally discovered in plants, the phenomenon of co-suppression by transgenic DNA has since been observed in many organisms from fungi to animals: introduction of transgenic copies of a gene results in reduced expression of the transgene as well as the endogenous gene. The effect depends on sequence identity between transgene and endogenous gene. Some cases of co-suppression resemble RNA interference (the experimental silencing of genes by the introduction of double-stranded RNA), as RNA seems to be both an important initiator and a target in these processes. Here we show that co-suppression in Caenorhabditis elegans is also probably mediated by RNA molecules. Both RNA interference and co-suppression have been implicated in the silencing of transposons. We now report that mutants of C. elegans that are defective in transposon silencing and RNA interference (mut-2, mut-7, mut-8 and mut-9) are in addition resistant to co-suppression. This indicates that RNA interference and co-suppression in C. elegans may be mediated at least in part by the same molecular machinery, possibly through RNA-guided degradation of messenger RNA molecules.     

RNAi及其在生命科学研究中的应用

RNAi即RNA干扰(RNA interfering),是近几年才发现的一种由双链RNA引起的基因沉默的现象,是目前分子生物学领域研究的热点。介绍RNAi的发现,并对RNAi在生命科学研究领域的最新应用进行综述。     

A germline-specific class of small RNAs binds mammalian Piwi proteins

Small RNAs associate with Argonaute proteins and serve as sequence-specific guides to regulate messenger RNA stability, protein synthesis, chromatin organization and genome structure. In animals, Argonaute proteins segregate into two subfamilies. The Argonaute subfamily acts in RNA interference and in microRNA-mediated gene regulation using 21-22-nucleotide RNAs as guides. The Piwi subfamily is involved in germline-specific events such as germline stem cell maintenance and meiosis. However, neither the biochemical function of Piwi proteins nor the nature of their small RNA guides is known. Here we show that MIWI, a murine Piwi protein, binds a previously uncharacterized class of approximately 29-30-nucleotide RNAs that are highly abundant in testes. We have therefore named these Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). piRNAs show distinctive localization patterns in the genome, being predominantly grouped into 20-90-kilobase clusters, wherein long stretches of small RNAs are derived from only one strand. Similar piRNAs are also found in human and rat, with major clusters occurring in syntenic locations. Although their function must still be resolved, the abundance of piRNAs in germline cells and the male sterility of Miwi mutants suggest a role in gametogenesis.     

RNAi的研究进展

RNAi(RNA interference)是近年来发现的在生物体内普遍存在的一种古老的生物学现象，是由dsRNA介导的由特定酶参与的特异性基因沉默现象，它在转录水平、转录后水平和翻译水平上阻断基因的表达。RNAi是真核生物体抵抗外源基因(如病毒基因、转座子、人工转入基因等)入侵的一种保护性反应，它还是生物体在不同时期通过调控基因表达来调节细胞分化的机制。RNAi已成为一种极为有用的使基因失活的工具应用于多方面的研究中。介绍了RNAi的发现、RNAi的机理、参与RNAi的酶、及其RNAi的应用等有关RNAi的研究进展。     

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．     

Prevalence of off-target effects in Drosophila RNA interference screens

RNA interference (RNAi) in both plants and animals is mediated by small RNAs of approximately 21-23 nucleotides in length for regulation of target gene expression at multiple levels through partial sequence complementarities. Combined with widespread genome sequencing, experimental use of RNAi has the potential to interrogate systematically all genes in a given organism with respect to a particular function. However, owing to a tolerance for mismatches and gaps in base-pairing with targets, small RNAs could have up to hundreds of potential target sequences in a genome, and some small RNAs in mammalian systems have been shown to affect the levels of many messenger RNAs besides their intended targets. The use of long double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) in Drosophila, where Dicer-mediated processing produces small RNAs inside cells, has been thought to reduce the probability of such 'off-target effects' (OTEs). Here we show, however, that OTEs mediated by short homology stretches within long dsRNAs are prevalent in Drosophila. We have performed a genome-wide RNAi screen for novel components of Wingless (Wg) signal transduction in Drosophila S2R + cells, and found few, if any, legitimate candidates. Rather, many of the top candidates exert their effects on Wg response through OTEs on known pathway components or through promiscuous OTEs produced by tandem trinucleotide repeats present in many dsRNAs and genes. Genes containing such repeats are over-represented in candidate lists from published screens, suggesting that they represent a common class of false positives. Our results suggest simple measures to improve the reliability of genome-wide RNAi screens in Drosophila and other organisms.     

An endoribonuclease-prepared siRNA screen in human cells identifies genes essential for cell division

RNA interference (RNAi) is an evolutionarily conserved defence mechanism whereby genes are specifically silenced through degradation of messenger RNAs; this process is mediated by homologous double-stranded (ds)RNA molecules. In invertebrates, long dsRNAs have been used for genome-wide screens and have provided insights into gene functions. Because long dsRNA triggers a nonspecific interferon response in many vertebrates, short interfering (si)RNA or short hairpin (sh)RNAs must be used for these organisms to ensure specific gene silencing. Here we report the generation of a genome-scale library of endoribonuclease-prepared short interfering (esi)RNAs from a sequence-verified complementary DNA collection representing 15,497 human genes. We used 5,305 esiRNAs from this library to screen for genes required for cell division in HeLa cells. Using a primary high-throughput cell viability screen followed by a secondary high content videomicroscopy assay, we identified 37 genes required for cell division. These include several splicing factors for which knockdown generates mitotic spindle defects. In addition, a putative nuclear-export terminator was found to speed up cell proliferation and mitotic progression after knockdown. Thus, our study uncovers new aspects of cell division and establishes esiRNA as a versatile approach for genomic RNAi screens in mammalian cells.     

TGFβ1shRNA靶向抑制离体胎鼠肺成纤维细胞TGFfβ1基因表达

目的:探讨自行设计的TGFβ1shRNA对离体胎鼠肺成纤维细胞TGFβ1基因表达的干扰作用,为研究纤维化病变的基因治疗提供技术基础和依据.方法:原代培养胎鼠肺成纤维细胞,并建立细胞高氧损伤模型.针对大鼠TGFβ1基因mRNA序列,设计、合成携带3条TGFβ1shRNA绿色荧光蛋白融合表达质粒载体,并设阴性质粒组和空白组为对照,通过JetPEI包裹分别转染上述高氧损伤的胎鼠肺成纤维细胞.转染后24、48和72 h收集细胞,在荧光显微镜下观察干扰效果,采用实时荧光定量PCR检测TGFβ1基因表达情况,并计算干扰效率.结果:①成功培养胎鼠肺成纤维细胞,并建立细胞高氧损伤模型;②荧光显微镜下观察,可见转染后24、48和72 h TG-Fβ1shRNA质粒组细胞绿色荧光强度均明显弱于阴性质粒组细胞,空质粒载体组未产生绿色荧光;荧光定量PCR检测转染后胎鼠肺成纤维细胞TGFβ1 mRNA表达量,转染后24、48和72 hTGFβ1shRNA质粒组TGFβ1 mRNA表达量均显著低于阴性质粒组(P<0.01),其基因干扰效率则依次递减,分别为97.3%、96.9%和71.7%.结论:本研究证明自行设计的TGFβ1shRNA转染胎鼠肺成纤维细胞后24、48和72 h均能够高效干扰TGFβ1基因的表达,其基因干扰效率呈现一定的时间依赖性.     

Trans-splicing in C. elegans generates the negative RNAi regulator ERI-6/7

Mutations that enhance the response to double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) have revealed components of the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway or related small RNA pathways. To explore these small RNA pathways, we screened for Caenorhabditis elegans mutants displaying an enhanced response to exogenous dsRNAs. Here we describe the isolation of mutations in two adjacent, divergently transcribed open reading frames (eri-6 and eri-7) that fail to complement. eri-6 and eri-7 produce separate pre-messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs) that are trans-spliced to form a functional mRNA, eri-6/7. Trans-splicing of eri-6/7 is mediated by a direct repeat that flanks the eri-6 gene. Adenosine to inosine editing within untranslated regions of eri-6 and eri-7 pre-mRNAs reveals a double-stranded pre-mRNA intermediate, forming in the nucleus before splicing occurs. The ERI-6/7 protein is a superfamily I helicase that both negatively regulates the exogenous RNAi pathway and functions in an endogenous RNAi pathway.