小RNA的生成机制与功能

小RNA长度在20~32 nt之间,通过染色质修饰、mRNA降解和翻译抑制来调控基因表达。小RNA可以分为三类:小干扰RNA、微小RNA和piRNAs。小干扰RNA主要抵御转座子和病毒的侵袭。微小RNA的表达受发育水平调控且有组织特异性,在发育和细胞分化中起作用。piRNAs在生殖细胞和干细胞中表达,可使反转座子沉默。综述了这几种小RNA的定义与分类、生成机制、功能及其研究方法。     

靶向survivin的siRNA对胃癌BGC-823细胞增殖和转移能力的影响

目的探讨沉默生存素（survivin）基因表达的干扰RNA对人胃癌BGC-823细胞增殖和成瘤能力的影响。方法应用已经在细胞上验证能够有效沉默survivin的小分子干扰RNA（shRNA-survivin-1）,并在体外实验的基础上,建立稳定表达干扰RNA细胞系,进一步探讨干扰RNA稳定表达对胃癌BGC-823细胞生长和裸鼠移植成瘤的影响。结果 shRNA-survivin-1有效沉默人胃癌BGC-823细胞survivin mRNA的表达,成功筛选shRNA-sur-vivin-1稳定表达细胞株BGC/siRNA-1细胞,实验表明,BGC/siRNA-1细胞的生长曲线缓慢上升,细胞增殖能力下降;BGC/siRNA-1细胞裸鼠移植成瘤体积与对照组相比,明显减小（P〈0.05）。结论 shRNA-survivin-1可以沉默survivin基因的表达,可以显著抑制胃癌BGC-823细胞的增殖,并降低胃癌BGC-823细胞的成瘤能力,本研究为靶向survivin的RNA干扰在胃癌的基因治疗提供了有力的理论依据和技术储备。 更多还原     

靶向survivin的siRNA对胃癌BGC-823细胞增殖的影响

目的探讨干扰RNA沉默生存素（survivin）基因表达对人胃癌BGC-823细胞增殖和凋亡的影响。方法设计并合成3条靶向survivin的小分子干扰RNA（siRNA）,构建表达性干扰RNA质粒（shRNA）——shRNA-survivin-1、shRNA-survivin-2和shRNA-survivin-3,分别转染胃癌BGC-823细胞,实时定量PCR检测干扰RNA沉默survivin mRNA表达效果,Westernblot观察对胃癌BGC-823细胞survivin蛋白质表达的抑制,MTT（四甲基偶氮唑盐）比色法分析检测细胞生长抑制率,流式细胞计数检测各组细胞周期和凋亡率,探讨干扰RNA对胃癌BGC-823细胞生长的影响。结果在体外,shRNA-survivin-1有效沉默人胃癌BGC-823细胞survivin mRNA的表达,使sur-vivin mRNA相对水平明显降低（P〈0.05）,survivin蛋白质表达抑制,72h细胞生长抑制率达74.92%（P〈0.05）,shRNA-survivin-1使G2/M期细胞百分比明显增加,凋亡率显著增加（P〈0.05）。结论 shRNA-survivin-1可以沉默survivin基因的表达,可以显著抑制胃癌BGC-823细胞的增殖,在一定程度上诱导其自发凋亡。本研究为靶向sur-vivin的RNA干扰在胃癌的基因治疗提供了有力的理论依据和技术储备。     

细胞内表达的小干扰RNA靶向丙肝病毒5′保守区的研究

将丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)基因组的5′非编码区(5′UTR)插入到报告基因绿色荧光蛋白(eGFP)和荧光素酶(luciferase)的上游,并构建基于Ⅲ型启动子的表达载体,这种载体能产生针对HCV 5′UTR的小干扰RNA。然后将含有HCV 5′UTR的eGFP/luciferase和能产生小干扰RNA的质粒共转染入Hela细胞,通过测定细胞发出的荧光和化学发光强弱来观测抑制效果。实验结果表明,与HCV 5′UTR特异性小干扰RNA表达质粒共转染的细胞无论从定性还是从定量上所测得的荧光和化学发光强度都明显低于阴性对照,且细胞密度经核染色与对照组无明显区别。这揭示了小干扰RNA确实能引起HCV特异基因如5′UTR的沉默,且转染进去的小干扰RNA表达质粒对细胞没有毒害作用。这一工作是通过载体直接在细胞内表达小干扰RNA(siRNA)而不是化学合成的,可以使小干扰RNA在细胞内得到稳定表达,因此本研究设计的siRNA表达载体不仅可以有效沉默HCV 5′UTR,而且该系统可以灵敏地筛选更有效的针对HCV的siRNA,因而这一结果为研究利用RNA干扰进行基因治疗HCV感染做了初步探索。     

siRNA及其在哺乳动物中的应用

RNA干扰现象已经在多种生物中发现,但是在多数哺乳动物中尚未发现自然存在RNA干扰的证据。因此最初RNA干扰技术在哺乳动物细胞中的应用受到很大的限制。直到对RNA干扰作用机制有了较深入的了解以后,主要是小干扰RNA的发现使RNA干扰技术在哺乳动物中的应用得以推广。本文介绍了RNA干扰,重点描述了小干扰RNA的发现、特点、现有制备方法以及应用。     

第三类小RNA和生殖细胞发育

果蝇中重复相关小干扰RNA(rasiRNA)和哺乳动物中Piwi相互作用RNA(piRNA)是最近发现的大小在30个核苷酸左右的小RNA,它们与已经发现的22个核苷酸左右的短干扰RNA(siRNA)和微小RNA(miRNA)有明显区别,因此命名为第三类小RNA。第三类小RNA可以与Piwi形成基因沉默复合体,并可能采取与经典RNA干扰不同的方式而影响特定基因的表达。目前这类小RNA主要在生殖细胞及干细胞中发现,尤其对生殖细胞中生理功能的全面研究,可能对RNA干扰现象有一个更为全面的理解。     

细胞内表达的小干扰RNA靶向丙肝病毒5′保守区的研究

将丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)基因组的5′非编码区(5′UTR)插入到报告基因绿色荧光蛋白(eGFP)和荧光素酶(luciferase)的上游,并构建基于Ⅲ型启动子的表达载体,这种载体能产生针对HCV 5′UTR的小干扰RNA.然后将含有HCV 5′UTR的eGFP/luciferase和能产生小干扰RNA的质粒共转染入Hela细胞,通过测定细胞发出的荧光和化学发光强弱来观测抑制效果.实验结果表明,与HCV 5′UTR特异性小干扰RNA表达质粒共转染的细胞无论从定性还是从定量上所测得的荧光和化学发光强度都明显低于阴性对照,且细胞密度经核染色与对照组无明显区别.这揭示了小干扰RNA确实能引起HCV特异基因如5′UTR的沉默,且转染进去的小干扰RNA表达质粒对细胞没有毒害作用.这一工作是通过载体直接在细胞内表达小干扰RNA(siRNA)而不是化学合成的,可以使小干扰RNA在细胞内得到稳定表达,因此本研究设计的siRNA表达载体不仅可以有效沉默HCV 5′UTR,而且该系统可以灵敏地筛选更有效的针对HCV的siRNA,因而这一结果为研究利用RNA干扰进行基因治疗HCV感染做了初步探索.     

各种RNA干扰库的构建及比较

不同种类的RNA干扰库已经被用于基因功能的研究之中,根据其构建方式和分子形式的不同,可将RNA干扰库分为4种类型,即化学合成的小干扰RNA（siRNA）库、化学合成的小发夹RNA（shRNA）表达库、酶切法构建的siRNA库和酶切法构建的shRNA表达库。简要介绍上述RNA干扰库的构建方法及其特点和局限。     

细胞内表达的小干扰RNA靶向丙肝病毒5’保守区的研究

将丙型肝炎病毒(HCV)基因组的5’非编码区(5’UTR)插入到报告基因绿色荧光蛋白(eGFP)和荧光素酶(luciferase)的上游,并构建基于Ⅲ型启动子的表达载体,这种载体能产生针对HCV5’UTR的小干扰RNA。然后将含有HCV5’UTR的eGFP／luciferase和能产生小干扰RNA的质粒共转染入Hela细胞,通过测定细胞发出的荧光和化学发光强弱来观测抑制效果。实验结果表明,与HCV5’UTR特异性小干扰RNA表达质粒共转染的细胞无论从定性还是从定量上所测得的荧光和化学发光强度都明显低于阴性对照,且细胞密度经核染色与对照组无明显区别。这揭示了小干扰RNA确实能引起HCV特异基因如5’UTR的沉默,且转染进去的小干扰RNA表达质粒对细胞没有毒害作用。这一工作是通过载体直接在细胞内表达小干扰RNA(siRNA)而不是化学合成的,可以使小干扰RNA在细胞内得到稳定表达,因此本研究设计的siRNA表达载体不仅可以有效沉默HCV5’UTR,而且该系统可以灵敏地筛选更有效的针对HCV的siRNA,因而这一结果为研究利用RNA干扰进行基因治疗HCV感染做了初步探索。     

真核生物中的微小RNA及其功能研究进展

真核生物中存在两种主要的非编码RNA(non-coding RNA),在真核生物中发挥重要作用。一类为微小RNA(microRNA,miRNA),另一为小干扰RNA(siRNA)。miRNA大小为19～25nt,在体内与蛋白质形成核糖核蛋白复合体(miRNP),在真核基因的表达调控,生长发育中起重要作用。siRNA在RNA干扰(RNA地 interference,RNAi)途径中起定位特异mRNA的作用。miRNA与siRNA有联系也有区别。miRNA在真核生物中的调控机制具有保守性。     

HIV-1 TAR element is processed by Dicer to yield a viral micro-RNA involved in chromatin remodeling of the viral LTR

Background  

RNA interference (RNAi) is a regulatory mechanism conserved in higher eukaryotes. The RNAi pathway generates small interfering RNA (siRNA) or micro RNA (miRNA) from either long double stranded stretches of RNA or RNA hairpins, respectively. The siRNA or miRNA then guides an effector complex to a homologous sequence of mRNA and regulates suppression of gene expression through one of several mechanisms. The suppression of gene expression through these mechanisms serves to regulate endogenous gene expression and protect the cell from foreign nucleic acids. There is growing evidence that many viruses have developed in the context of RNAi and express either a suppressor of RNAi or their own viral miRNA.     

人工 microRNA 技术研究进展

RNA干扰（RNAi）是由双链RNA触发的在mRNA水平进行的特异靶序列的基因沉默现象,广泛存在于动物、植物和病毒中,主要包括小干扰RNA（siRNA）及微小RNA（miRNA）两种作用途径。人工miRNA（amiRNA）是将天然miRNA的成熟序列替换成人工设计的靶向其他感兴趣基因的反义序列,通过天然miRNA的生成和作用途径达到RNAi的效果,具有干扰效果明显、作用迅速、毒性低等优点,拥有广阔的应用前景。我们对基于amiRNA的基因沉默技术进行了较为系统的介绍和总结,梳理了该技术的优缺点和适用范围,并展望了其进一步发展的方向和应用前景。     

MicroRNA and brain tumors: a cause and a cure?

Malignant brain tumors, including high-grade gliomas, are among the most lethal of all cancers. Despite considerable advances, including multi-modal treatments with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the overall prognosis remains dismal for patients diagnosed with these tumors. With the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) for target-specific gene silencing via small interfering RNA (siRNA), a novel method to target malignant gliomas has been exposed, an endeavor that is aggressively being carried out in numerous laboratories. However, practical difficulties in tissue- or organ-specific targeting of therapeutic quantities of siRNA still preclude its applicability in a clinical setting. MicroRNA (miRNA), an endogenously expressed form of siRNA, not only presents an alternate method to induce RNAi in a given diseased tissue or organ, but also exposes a unique set of diagnostic markers that can be used to identify, and then differentiate between tumor grades. Thus, miRNA can be considered the cells' answer to siRNA. Discovered over a decade ago, miRNA is fast becoming recognized as crucial in regulating gene expression in cancers. Therein lies the therapeutic potential of miRNA, as it may now be possible to induce or inhibit RNAi in a given diseased cell population by controlling the cells' miRNA expression profile. This review outlines the potential of miRNA as a therapeutic strategy against high-grade gliomas, and also the technological hurdles that need to be addressed before this promising technique can be administered in a clinical setting.     

Construction of siRNA/miRNA expression vectors based on a one-step PCR process

Background  

RNA interference (RNAi) has become a powerful means for silencing target gene expression in mammalian cells and is envisioned to be useful in therapeutic approaches to human disease. In recent years, high-throughput, genome-wide screening of siRNA/miRNA libraries has emerged as a desirable approach. Current methods for constructing siRNA/miRNA expression vectors require the synthesis of long oligonucleotides, which is costly and suffers from mutation problems.     

昆虫RNAi通路及其核心元件的研究综述

RNAi作为分子生物学的一种重要技术,在昆虫基因功能和功能基因组研究中得到广泛应用,同时,有关昆虫RNAi的机制也受到了大家的关注。近年来的研究结果表明,昆虫RNAi的通路与其他动物相同,根据引起基因沉默的RNA分子的类型,可以分为siRNA、miRNA和piRNA 3种不同的通路。昆虫RNAi通路中的核心元件包括了:(1)行使切割作用的RNaseⅢ家族成员Drosha和Dicer;(2)用来降解目的 mRNA的Argonaute蛋白;(3)dsRNA结合蛋白Pasha、R2D2和Loquacious。了解昆虫RNAi的通路及其核心元件,有助于我们更好地理解昆虫RNAi的分子机制和改进实现RNAi的方法,对促进昆虫RNAi技术的研究及其在害虫防控中的应用具有指导意义。     

Localization of double-stranded small interfering RNA to cytoplasmic processing bodies is Ago2 dependent and results in up-regulation of GW182 and Argonaute-2

Processing bodies (P-bodies) are cytoplasmic foci implicated in the regulation of mRNA translation, storage, and degradation. Key effectors of microRNA (miRNA)-mediated RNA interference (RNAi), such as Argonaute-2 (Ago2), miRNAs, and their cognate mRNAs, are localized to these structures; however, the precise role that P-bodies and their component proteins play in small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated RNAi remains unclear. Here, we investigate the relationship between siRNA-mediated RNAi, RNAi machinery proteins, and P-bodies. We show that upon transfection into cells, siRNAs rapidly localize to P-bodies in their native double-stranded conformation, as indicated by fluorescence resonance energy transfer imaging and that Ago2 is at least in part responsible for this siRNA localization pattern, indicating RISC involvement. Furthermore, siRNA transfection induces up-regulated expression of both GW182, a key P-body component, and Ago2, indicating that P-body localization and interaction with GW182 and Ago2 are important in siRNA-mediated RNAi. By virtue of being centers where these proteins and siRNAs aggregate, we propose that the P-body microenvironment, whether as microscopically visible foci or submicroscopic protein complexes, facilitates siRNA processing and siRNA-mediated silencing through the action of its component proteins.     

Asymmetry in the assembly of the RNAi enzyme complex

A key step in RNA interference (RNAi) is assembly of the RISC, the protein-siRNA complex that mediates target RNA cleavage. Here, we show that the two strands of an siRNA duplex are not equally eligible for assembly into RISC. Rather, both the absolute and relative stabilities of the base pairs at the 5' ends of the two siRNA strands determine the degree to which each strand participates in the RNAi pathway. siRNA duplexes can be functionally asymmetric, with only one of the two strands able to trigger RNAi. Asymmetry is the hallmark of a related class of small, single-stranded, noncoding RNAs, microRNAs (miRNAs). We suggest that single-stranded miRNAs are initially generated as siRNA-like duplexes whose structures predestine one strand to enter the RISC and the other strand to be destroyed. Thus, the common step of RISC assembly is an unexpected source of asymmetry for both siRNA function and miRNA biogenesis.