RNA干涉及其应用

RNA Interference and Its Application

在各种各样的真核生物当中,双链RNA(dsRNA)促使了有效的同源mRNA分子降解,这个过程被称为RNA干扰(RNAi)。RNAi现象通过调控RNA抑制基因表达,它在植物、动物、真菌中广泛存在,被认为是一种抑制病毒性复制和转座子活动的抗御机制,而在此过程中,侵染型病毒为了能够不被这种机制干扰抑制,继续在寄主体内生存、繁殖,则产生了一种反抗御机制———即产生抑制蛋白来对付转录后基因沉默(PTGS)。对RNAi以及RNAi抑制物的作用机制、抑制物类型、特点及相关应用方面作了比较详尽的综述。dsRNA介导的PTGS将是分子生物学领域的研究热点之一,在研究基因功能,基因治疗,抗病毒基因工程,解剖和调控次生代谢途径等方面有着广泛的应用前景。

In various eukaryotic organisms, double-stranded RNA causes effective degradation of homologous mRNA molecules by a process called RNA interference. RNA interference is a phenomenon associated with gene suppression via regulatory RNA molecules, which is common in plants, animals and fungi. RNA sileneing is thought to have evolved as a defense mechanism to suppress viral replication and transposon mobilization. As a result, many plant viruses have adapted mechanisms to evade and suppress gene silencing. As a counter-defence, many viruses encode proteins-suppressors that specifically inhibit the silencing mechanism. This review focuses on the mechanisms and characteristics of RNAi and its suppressors, and further discusses its application. Post-transcriptional gene silencing （PTGS） mediated by dsRNA will be one of the hottest focuses in molecules biology, and it will have a bright future in functional genomics, gene-specific therapies, antiviral gene project and other biotechnological and biomedical aspects.