Comprehensive evaluation of canonical versus Dicer-substrate siRNA in vitro and in vivo

Since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), researchers have identified a variety of small interfering RNA (siRNA) structures that demonstrate the ability to silence gene expression through the classical RISC-mediated mechanism. One such structure, termed "Dicer-substrate siRNA" (dsiRNA), was proposed to have enhanced potency via RISC-mediated gene silencing, although a comprehensive comparison of canonical siRNAs and dsiRNAs remains to be described. The present study evaluates the in vitro and in vivo activities of siRNAs and dsiRNAs targeting Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog (PTEN) and Factor VII (FVII). More than 250 compounds representing both siRNA and dsiRNA structures were evaluated for silencing efficacy. Lead compounds were assessed for duration of silencing and other key parameters such as cytokine induction. We identified highly active compounds from both canonical siRNAs and 25/27 dsiRNAs. Lead compounds were comparable in potency both in vitro and in vivo as well as duration of silencing in vivo. Duplexes from both structural classes tolerated 2'-OMe chemical modifications well with respect to target silencing, although some modified dsiRNAs demonstrated reduced activity. On the other hand, dsiRNAs were more immunostimulatory as compared with the shorter siRNAs, both in vitro and in vivo. Because the dsiRNA structure does not confer any appreciable benefits in vitro or in vivo while demonstrating specific liabilities, further studies are required to support their applications in RNAi therapeutics.     

Construction of a genomewide RNAi mutant library in rice

Long hairpin RNA (hpRNA) transgenes are a powerful tool for gene function studies in plants, but a genomewide RNAi mutant library using hpRNA transgenes has not been reported for plants. Here, we report the construction of a hpRNA library for the genomewide identification of gene function in rice using an improved rolling circle amplification‐mediated hpRNA (RMHR) method. Transformation of rice with the library resulted in thousands of transgenic lines containing hpRNAs targeting genes of various function. The target mRNA was down‐regulated in the hpRNA lines, and this was correlated with the accumulation of siRNAs corresponding to the double‐stranded arms of the hpRNA. Multiple members of a gene family were simultaneously silenced by hpRNAs derived from a single member, but the degree of such cross‐silencing depended on the level of sequence homology between the members as well as the abundance of matching siRNAs. The silencing of key genes tended to cause a severe phenotype, but these transgenic lines usually survived in the field long enough for phenotypic and molecular analyses to be conducted. Deep sequencing analysis of small RNAs showed that the hpRNA‐derived siRNAs were characteristic of Argonaute‐binding small RNAs. Our results indicate that RNAi mutant library is a high‐efficient approach for genomewide gene identification in plants.     

Regulation of small RNA stability: methylation and beyond

As central components of RNA silencing, small RNAs play diverse and important roles in many biological processes in eukaryotes. Aberrant reduction or elevation in the levels of small RNAs is associated with many developmental and physiological defects. The in vivo levels of small RNAs are precisely regulated through modulating the rates of their biogenesis and turnover. 2′-O-methylation on the 3′ terminal ribose is a major mechanism that increases the stability of small RNAs. The small RNA methyltransferase HUA ENHANCER1 (HEN1) and its homologs methylate microRNAs and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) in plants, Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) in animals, and siRNAs in Drosophila. 3′ nucleotide addition, especially uridylation, and 3′-5′ exonucleolytic degradation are major mechanisms that turnover small RNAs. Other mechanisms impacting small RNA stability include complementary RNAs, cis-elements in small RNA sequences and RNA-binding proteins. Investigations are ongoing to further understand how small RNA stability impacts their accumulation in vivo in order to improve the utilization of RNA silencing in biotechnology and therapeutic applications.     

Analysis of RNA Silencing in Agroinfiltrated Leaves of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nicotiana Benthamiana</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nicotiana Tabacum</Emphasis>

In this study we analyse several aspects of cytoplasmic RNA silencing by agroinfiltration of DNA constructs encoding single- and double-stranded RNAs derived from a GFP transgene and from the endogenous Virp1 gene. Both types of inductors resulted after 2–4 days in much higher concentration of siRNAs in the agroinfiltrated zone than normally seen during systemic silencing. More specifically, infiltration of two transgene hairpin constructs resulted in elevated levels of siRNAs. However, differences between the two constructs were observed: the antisense–sense arrangement was more effective than the sense–antisense order. For both double-stranded forms, we observed a relative increase of the 24-mer size class of siRNAs. When a comparable hairpin construct of the endogenous Virp1 gene was assayed, the portion of the 24-mer siRNA class remained low as observed for all kinds of single-stranded inducers. The lack of increase of Virp1-derived 24-mers was independent of the expression level, as demonstrated by agroinfiltration into a transgenic plant that overexpressed Virp1 and showed the same pattern. Using transducer constructs, we could detect within a week transitive silencing from GFP to GUS sequences in the infiltrated zone and in either direction 5′–3′ and 3′–5′. Conversely, for the endogenous Virp1 gene neither transitive silencing nor the induction of systemic silencing could be observed. These results are discussed in view of the current models of RNA silencing.     

植物RNA沉默的分子机制研究进展

RNA沉默（RNA silencing）是真核生物中的一种抵抗外源遗传因子（病毒、转座子或转基因）及调控基凶表达的防御机制。参与植物RNA沉默的酶及蛋白质主要包括6种RNA依赖的RNA聚合酶、4种Dicer-like（DCL）核酸内切酶和10种Argonautes蛋白。植物中4条RNA沉默途径分别由微小RNA（miRNAs）和3种小干扰RNA（siRNAs）介导,包括反式作用siRNAs（ta－siRNAs）、天然反义siRNAs（natsiRNAs）和异染色质siRNAs（hc-siRNAs）。在植物RNA沉默的系统性传播中,由DCL4或DCL2将dsRNAs裁剪为次级SiRNAS,以放大RNA沉默信号和增强沉默效应。     

Differential effects of viral silencing suppressors on siRNA and miRNA loading support the existence of two distinct cellular pools of ARGONAUTE1

Plant viruses encode RNA silencing suppressors (VSRs) to counteract the antiviral RNA silencing response. Based on in-vitro studies, several VSRs were proposed to suppress silencing through direct binding of short-interfering RNAs (siRNAs). Because their expression also frequently hinders endogenous miRNA-mediated regulation and stabilizes labile miRNA* strands, VSRs have been assumed to prevent both siRNA and miRNA loading into their common effector protein, AGO1, through sequestration of small RNA (sRNA) duplexes in vivo. These assumptions, however, have not been formally tested experimentally. Here, we present a systematic in planta analysis comparing the effects of four distinct VSRs in Arabidopsis. While all of the VSRs tested compromised loading of siRNAs into AGO1, only P19 was found to concurrently prevent miRNA loading, consistent with a VSR strategy primarily based on sRNA sequestration. By contrast, we provide multiple lines of evidence that the action of the other VSRs tested is unlikely to entail siRNA sequestration, indicating that in-vitro binding assays and in-vivo miRNA* stabilization are not reliable indicator of VSR action. The contrasted effects of VSRs on siRNA versus miRNA loading into AGO1 also imply the existence of two distinct pools of cellular AGO1 that are specifically loaded by each class of sRNAs. These findings have important implications for our current understanding of RNA silencing and of its suppression in plants.     

Competition potency of siRNA is specified by the 5'-half sequence of the guide strand

Small-interfering RNAs (siRNAs) execute specific cellular gene silencing by exploiting the endogenous RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Therefore, excess amounts of siRNAs can saturate cellular RNAi machineries. Indeed, some siRNAs saturate the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) and competitively inhibit silencing by other siRNAs. However, the molecular feature of siRNAs that specifies competition potency has been undetermined. While previous reports suggested a correlation between the competition potency and silencing efficiency of siRNAs, we found that the silencing efficiency was insufficient to explain the competition potency. Instead, we show that the nucleotide sequence of the 5′-half of the guide strand determines the competition potency of an siRNA. Our finding provides important information for understanding the mechanistic basis of competition in combinatorial RNAi treatment.     

RNA interference induced by siRNAs modified with 4'-thioribonucleosides in cultured mammalian cells

Short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) variously modified with 4'-thioribonucleosides against the Photinus luciferase gene were tested for their induction of the RNA interference (RNAi) activity in cultured NIH/3T3 cells. Results indicated that modifications at the sense-strand were well tolerated for RNAi activity except for full modification with 4'-thioribonucleosides. However, the activity of siRNAs modified at the antisense-strand was dependent on the position and the number of modifications with 4'-thioribonucleosides. Since modifications of siRNAs with 4'-thioribonucleosides were well tolerated in RNAi activity compared with that of 2'-O-methyl nucleosides, 4'-thioribonucleosides might be potentially useful in the development of novel and effective chemically modified siRNAs.     

RNA沉默在植物生物逆境反应中的作用

RNA沉默是真核生物共有的基因表达调节机制和防御机制。在植物RNA沉默中, 一些小RNAs, 如微小 RNAs和小干扰RNAs, 在植物防御病毒、细菌或食草动物的反应中具有重要作用。为了抑制宿主的RNA沉默系统, 植物病毒或细菌进化出了在RNA沉默不同阶段起作用的病毒沉默抑制子或细菌沉默抑制子, 来克服寄主的RNA沉默反应。文章就植物RNA沉默、病毒沉默抑制子、细菌沉默抑制子及其相关防御反应的一些新进展做一概述。     

Developing effective siRNAs to reduce the expression of key viral genes of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has been raging worldwide for more than a year. Many efforts have been made to create vaccines and develop new antiviral drugs to cope with the disease. Here, we propose the application of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to degrade the viral genome, thus reducing viral infection. By introducing the concept of the probability of binding efficiency (PBE) and combining the secondary structures of RNA molecules, we designed 11 siRNAs that target the consensus regions of three key viral genes: the spike (S), nucleocapsid (N) and membrane (M) genes of SARS-CoV-2. The silencing efficiencies of the siRNAs were determined in human lung and endothelial cells overexpressing these viral genes. The results suggested that most of the siRNAs could significantly reduce the expression of the viral genes with inhibition rates above 50% in 24 hours. This work not only provides a strategy for designing potentially effective siRNAs against target genes but also validates several potent siRNAs that can be used in the clinical development of preventative medication for COVID-19 in the future.     

The effects of thiophosphate substitutions on native siRNA gene silencing

RNA mediated interference has emerged as a powerful tool in controlling gene expression in mammalian cells. We investigated the gene silencing properties of six thiophosphate substituted siRNAs (all based on a commercial luciferase medium silencer) compared to that of unmodified siRNA. We also examined the cytotoxicity and dose-response using several thiophosphate modified siRNAs with unmodified siRNA. Our results show that two thiophosphate siRNA sequences convert from medium to high silencers with the addition of four randomly placed thiophosphates. Both thiophosphate siRNAs have a statistically significant difference in luciferase gene silencing (5% and 6% activity) relative to the unmodified native medium silencer referred to as siRNA-2 (18% activity) and four other thiophosphate siRNAs that maintain their medium silencing capability. This indicates that specific thiophosphate substitutions may alter native siRNA function. Further, this shows that thiophosphate siRNAs with the same nucleotide sequence but with different sulfur modification positions have different silencing effects. Both the native siRNA and the thio siRNAs showed a concentration dependent relationship, i.e., with concentration increase, the luciferase gene silencing effect also increased. Confirming cytotoxicity experiments showed no significant changes when HeLa cells were treated with 10nM thiophosphate siRNAs over the course of several days. These results suggest that specific placement of thiophosphates could play an important role in the development of siRNAs as therapeutics by engineering in properties such as strength of binding, nuclease sensitivity, and ultimately efficacy.