Using RNA Interference to Reveal Genetic Vulnerabilities in Human Cancer Cells

Abstract

Many eukaryotic organisms respond to double stranded RNA (dsRNA) by initiating a sequence specific silencing pathway known as RNA intereference or RNAi. The ability to exploit RNAi as an experimental tool for cancer has evolved in lock-step with an elucidation of the underlying biochemical mechanism of this regulatory pathway. Due in part to the triggering of non-sequence specific responses by dsRNAs of greater than 30-50 nucleotides, the experimental use of RNAi in mammalian systems awaited a detailed understanding of the RNAi mechanism. Studies in a multitude of organisms led to the development of a methodology for experimentally programming the RNAi machinery in mammalian cells by direct delivery of chemically synthesized siRNAs. A second approach for triggering RNAi in mammalian cells came about using DNA vectors encoding short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs), modeled roughly after endogenous microRNAs.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA431908

Entities

People

  • Despina Siolas
  • Gregory Hannon

Organizations

  • Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Assembly
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Research
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cells
  • Chemistry
  • Computer Programming
  • Culture Techniques
  • Enzymes
  • Gene Expression
  • Inhibition
  • Neoplasms
  • Nucleic Acids
  • Nucleotides
  • Substrates
  • Transfection
  • Vulnerability

Fields of Study

  • Biology

Readers

  • Breast cancer cell signaling and growth regulation.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Biotechnology - Cancer Biotech