RNA:诱导基因沉默

在生物体中,双链RNA(double-strand RNA,dsRNA)裂解后的小RNA可以诱导细胞质和基因组水平外源基因沉默。所谓基因沉默(gene silencing)是指生物体中特定基因由于种种原因不表达。小RNA能诱导互补信使RNA在转录后降解。RNA沉默是基因组水平的免疫现象,代表了进化过程中原始的基因组对抗外源基因序列表达的保护机制,在动植物进化中起着重要作用,RNA沉默具有抵抗病毒入侵、抑制转座子活动等作用,并调控蛋白编码基因的表达,具有十分诱人的应用前景。     

转录后基因沉默及植物病毒对它的抑制

转录后基因沉默是发生在细胞质中同源依赖的特定mRNA降解过程,也是生物体天然存在的对抗外源核酸(包括转基因、病毒)入侵的防御机制。概述转录后基因沉默的机制及双链RNA、21～25nt小RNA和RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶在其中的重要作用,以及抑制PTGS的植物病毒抑制子方面的研究进展。     

RNA干扰与抗病毒感染

RNA干扰(RNAi)是由小干扰RNA(siRNA)引发的生物细胞内同源基因的转录后基因沉默(PTGS)现象,是一种古老的生物抵抗外在感染的防御机制。RNAi因其在维持基因组稳定、调控基因表达和保护基因组免受外源核酸侵入等方面发挥的重要作用,已被广泛用于探索基因功能、基因治疗和新药的研发。外源导入siRNA引发的RNAi可以特异性抑制病毒的复制与感染,为抗病毒感染治疗开辟了一条新的途径。     

长链非编码RNA研究进展

长链非编码RNA(long noncoding RNAs,lncRNAs)是一类长度超过200nt的非编码RNA分子,通过信号分子、诱饵分子、引导分子、支架分子等4种方式在转录水平和转录后水平调控基因的表达。lncRNAs的表达水平相对于蛋白编码基因较低,但它们在X染色体沉默、基因组印迹、染色体修饰、转录激活、转录干扰以及核内运输等方面具有重要的功能。相对于研究较多的非编码小RNA,lncRNAs的功能目前尚不完全清楚。该文从lncRNAs的起源、分类、分子机制、功能和进化等方面综述了lncRNAs的研究进展,为进一步探究lncRNAs的功能和作用机制提供依据。     

RNA干扰的研究进展及应用

RNA干扰(RNAi)是生物体的一种在进化上保持高度保守的,能抵御外源基因或外来病毒侵犯的重要防御机制,是一种序列特异性的转录后基因沉默现象。它由双链RNA引发,广泛存在于动、植物等各种生物体内。我们简要综述了RNAi发生的机制、特点、哺乳动物与RNAi现象,以及RNAi的应用等。     

RNA干扰技术及应用的研究进展

RNA干扰(RNAi)是由双链RNA(dsRNA)介导的序列特异的基因沉默现象,RNAi效应具有高特异性和高效性的显著特征,能够在细胞和子代间传递.除诱导同源序列mRNA降解或阻止其翻译而使目的基因表达受阻的转录后基因沉默外,RNA干扰可通过组蛋白甲基化影响染色质结构、通过DNA甲基化在转录水平调节基因表达,在翻译水平调节机体发育,并作为基因组的免疫系统,使转座因子或重复序列区域异染色质化,有效抑制了转座子和重复序列之间的同源重组对基因组可能造成的破坏,使生物基因组在长期进化过程中能保持结构的完整性和遗传的连续性. RNA干扰以阻抑基因的表达来模拟基因敲除技术,为反向遗传学研究基因功能提供了一种快速和简便的方法.RNA干扰技术日趋成熟和完善,为人们迅速准确地分析基因功能提供了极为有用的工具,同时在临床应用和治疗肿瘤和癌症等方面也有着巨大的应用前景.     

RNA干扰技术及其在植物研究中的应用

RNA干扰(RNA interference,RNAi)是最近几年发现和发展起来的一门新兴的在转录水平上的基因阻断技术,它是生物体内由双链RNA(double-stranded RNA,dsRNA)介导同源mRNA降解的现象。RNAi广泛存在于从真菌到高等植物、从无脊椎动物到哺乳动物各种生物中。研究表明通过转入目的基因序列的双链RNA可以诱导产生基因沉默现象。同时,RNAi能监控异常的或外源的遗传物质在机体内的水平,并调控基因的表达,是生物体抵御外在感染的一种重要的保护机制,这使得RNA干扰技术具有十分诱人的应用前景。介绍了RNAi的研究历史、作用机制、特点及其在植物研究中的应用。     

RNA干扰技术及其在肝纤维化中的应用

RNA干扰(RNA interference,RNAi)是近几年发展起来的新技术,是外源和内源性双链RNA在生物体内诱导同源靶基因的mRNA特异性降解,因而抑制相应基因表达,导致转录后基因沉默的现象.尽管RNA干扰发现的时间较短,但由于其具有操作简单、成本低、特异性高和高效性等特点,因而发展迅速.小干扰RNA(small interfering RNA,siRNA)的可制备使RNAi在很多领域有了应用的前景,尤其是在复杂多变的肝脏疾病中.肝纤维化(hepatic fibrosis,HF)是多种慢性肝病发展的共同病理基础,RNAi技术在其基因治疗领域拥有广阔的前景.RNAi具有能够调节细胞增殖、抑制致病基因的表达、影响细胞的信号转导等方面的作用,可能成为肝纤维化有效的潜在治疗手段.     

真菌中RNA干扰的生物学功能

RNA干扰(RNA interference,RNAi)是一种保守的真核生物基因调控机制,它利用小的非编码RNA介导转录/转录后的基因沉默。虽然部分真菌丢失了RNAi系统,但随着对真菌RNAi机制研究的增加,越来越多的证据表明,真菌的RNAi系统不但参与维持基因组完整性,其在调节真菌生长发育、介导异染色质组装、促进着丝粒进化、调节真菌耐药性与毒力等方面也具有重要作用。本文主要对真菌中RNAi的生物学功能进行综述,以期为进一步深入研究真菌RNA干扰机制提供一定的理论与研究基础。     

Specific enrichment of miRNAs in Arabidopsis thaliana infected with Tobacco mosaic virus.

RNA silencing is a broadly conserved machinery and is involved in many biological events. Small RNAs are key molecules in RNA silencing pathway that guide sequence-specific gene regulations and chromatin modifications. The silencing machinery works as an anti-viral defense in virus-infected plants. It is generally accepted that virus-specific small interfering (si) RNAs bind to the viral genome and trigger its cleavage. Previously, we have cloned and obtained sequences of small RNAs from Arabidopsis thaliana infected or uninfected with crucifer Tobacco mosaic virus. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) accumulated to a higher percentage of total small RNAs in the virus-infected plants. This was partly because the viral replication protein binds to the miRNA/miRNA* duplexes. In the present study, we mapped the sequences of small RNAs other than virus-derived siRNAs to the Arabidopsis genome and assigned each small RNA. It was demonstrated that only miRNAs increased as a result of viral infection. Furthermore, some newly identified miRNAs and miRNA candidates were found from the virus-infected plants despite a limited number of examined sequences. We propose that it is advantageous to use virus-infected plants as a source for cloning and identifying new miRNAs.     

RNA干扰与染色质沉默——生物体内精密的网络调控机制

基因表达受不同层次的调控.RNA干扰通过产生双链小RNA诱导同源mRNA序列降解,从而在转录后抑制特定基因的表达.最新的研究成果显示：RNA干扰产生的双链小RNA可通过与染色质中的重复序列DNA及组蛋白甲基化酶相互作用,引起组蛋白H3 Lys9的甲基化,进一步与异染色质形成相关蛋白结合,导致染色质沉默.综述了RNA干扰,小RNA,组蛋白修饰,染色质沉默及基因表达调控之间存在着精密的网络调控机制.     

MIGS: miRNA-induced gene silencing

Gene silencing is an important tool in the study of gene function. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) and hairpin RNA interference (hpRNAi), both of which rely on small interfering RNAs, together with artificial microRNAs (amiRNA), are amongst the most popular methods for reduction of gene activity in plants. However, all three approaches have limitations. Here, we introduce miRNA-induced gene silencing (MIGS). This method exploits a special 22-nucleotide miRNA of Arabidopsis thaliana, miR173, which can trigger production of another class of small RNAs called trans-acting small interfering RNAs (tasiRNAs). We show that fusion of gene fragments to an upstream miR173 target site is sufficient for effective silencing of the corresponding endogenous gene. MIGS can be reliably used for the knockdown of a single gene or of multiple unrelated genes. In addition, we show that MIGS can be applied to other species by co-expression of miR173.     

小RNA与蛋白质的相互作用

小分子调控RNA,包括siRNA（small interfering RNA）、miRNA（microRNA）和piRNA（piwiinteracting RNA）、hsRNA（heterochromatin associatedsmall RNA）等,是当前生命科学研究的前沿热点。越来越多的证据表明,这些小分子RNA存在于几乎所有较高等的真核生物细胞中,对生物体具有非常重要的调控功能。它们通过各种序列特异性的RNA基因沉默作用,包括RNA干扰（RNAi）、翻译抑制、异染色质形成等,调控诸如生长发育、应激反应、沉默转座子等各种各样的细胞进程。随着对这些小分子调控RNA的发现,一些RNascⅢ酶家族成员、Argonaute蛋白质家族成员及RNA结合蛋白质等先后被鉴定为小RNA的胞内蛋白质合作者,参与小RNA的加工成熟和在细胞内行使功能。本综述简介一些RNA沉默作用途径中重要组分的结构和功能的研究进展。     

Small RNAs, RNAi and the Inheritance of Gene Silencing in Caenorhabditis elegans

Invasive nucleic acids such as transposons and viruses usually exhibit aberrant characteristics, e.g., unpaired DNA or abnormal double-stranded RNA. Organisms employ a variety of strategies to defend themselves by distinguishing self and nonself substances and disabling these invasive nucleic acids. Furthermore, they have developed ways to remember this exposure to invaders and transmit the experience to their descendants. The mechanism underlying this inheritance has remained elusive. Recent research has shed light on the initiation and maintenance of RNA-mediated inherited gene silencing. Small regulatory RNAs play a variety of crucial roles in organisms, including gene regulation, developmental timing, antiviral defense, and genome integrity, via a process termed as RNA interference (RNAi). Recent research has revealed that small RNAs and the RNAi machinery are engaged in establishing and promoting transgenerational gene silencing. Small RNAs direct the RNAi and chromatin modification machinery to the cognate nucleic acids to regulate gene expression and epigenetic alterations. Notably, these acquired small RNAs and epigenetic changes persist and are transmitted from parents to offspring for multiple generations. Thus, RNAi is a vital determinant of the inheritance of gene silencing and acts as a driving force of evolution.     

Identification and characterization of small RNAs involved in RNA silencing

Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is a potent trigger of sequence-specific gene silencing mechanisms known as RNA silencing or RNA interference. The recognition of the target sequences is mediated by ribonucleoprotein complexes that contain 21- to 28-nucleotide (nt) guide RNAs derived from processing of the trigger dsRNA. Here, we review the experimental and bioinformatic approaches that were used to identify and characterize these small RNAs isolated from cells and tissues. The identification and characterization of small RNAs and their expression patterns is important for elucidating gene regulatory networks.     

RNA干涉在纤毛虫中的研究进展

RNA干涉是dsRNA介导的基因沉默现象,本文简要介绍了其作用的机制和生物学意义,重点阐述了RNA干涉在原生动物纤毛虫中的发现与应用,比较了RNA干涉与纤毛虫大核基因组重排机理的异同,并对RNA干涉在纤毛虫中传输的技术途径-RNAi喂饲法的原理也做了详细的介绍。