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Biogenesis and function of endogenous and exogenous siRNAs
Author(s) -
Snead Nicholas M.,
Rossi John J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
wiley interdisciplinary reviews: rna
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.225
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1757-7012
pISSN - 1757-7004
DOI - 10.1002/wrna.14
Subject(s) - rna interference , rna silencing , trans acting sirna , gene silencing , rna induced silencing complex , small interfering rna , biology , dicer , gene knockdown , argonaute , rna , dna directed rna interference , rna induced transcriptional silencing , effector , microrna , genetics , microbiology and biotechnology , gene
RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence‐specific gene silencing, or ‘knockdown’, mechanism facilitated by short duplex strands of RNA with sequence complementarity to target mRNAs. RNAi has many different forms, including posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS), and transcriptional gene silencing (TGS). Here, we review the biogenesis and function of an endogenous set of small RNA gene regulators, called microRNAs, as well as the mechanism of exogenously delivered small interfering RNAs. The potential applications of RNAi‐based therapeutics are also highlighted. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. This article is categorized under: Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > Biogenesis of Effector Small RNAs Regulatory RNAs/RNAi/Riboswitches > RNAi: Mechanisms of Action RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease