动物新型内源干扰小RNA研究

Progress in the studies on novel endogenous siRNAs in animal

微RNA(microRNA,miRNA)和Piwi作用RNA(Piwi-interacting RNA,piRNA)是动物体内具有重要调控作用的两类内源小RNA分子。最近科学家相继从动物体细胞和生殖细胞中发现了一种新型内源小RNA——内源干扰小RNA(endogenous small interfering RNA,endo-siRNA)。研究表明endo-siRNA分子在结构、分布及其功能上均与miRNA和piRNA分子存在着显著的异同点。

There are two types of endogenous small regulatory RNA in animals, named as microRNA （miRNA） and Piwiinteracting RNA （piRNA） respectively. Recently, scientists have discovered a novel type of endogenous small RNA—— endogenous small interfering RNA （endo-siRNA）. It has been demonstrated that there have similarities and differences between endo-siRNA and miRNA, piRNA in structure, distribution and function. So, it is of significance to further study the endo-siRNA.