Advances in Specific Gene Knockdown of Therapeutic Targets by RNA Interference

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (23) ◽  
pp. 2631-2631
Author(s):  
Fabiola Garcia Praça ◽  
Maria Vitória Lopes Badra Bentley

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Austė Kanapeckaitė ◽  
Neringa Burokienė

Abstract At present, heart failure (HF) treatment only targets the symptoms based on the left ventricle dysfunction severity; however, the lack of systemic ‘omics’ studies and available biological data to uncover the heterogeneous underlying mechanisms signifies the need to shift the analytical paradigm towards network-centric and data mining approaches. This study, for the first time, aimed to investigate how bulk and single cell RNA-sequencing as well as the proteomics analysis of the human heart tissue can be integrated to uncover HF-specific networks and potential therapeutic targets or biomarkers. We also aimed to address the issue of dealing with a limited number of samples and to show how appropriate statistical models, enrichment with other datasets as well as machine learning-guided analysis can aid in such cases. Furthermore, we elucidated specific gene expression profiles using transcriptomic and mined data from public databases. This was achieved using the two-step machine learning algorithm to predict the likelihood of the therapeutic target or biomarker tractability based on a novel scoring system, which has also been introduced in this study. The described methodology could be very useful for the target or biomarker selection and evaluation during the pre-clinical therapeutics development stage as well as disease progression monitoring. In addition, the present study sheds new light into the complex aetiology of HF, differentiating between subtle changes in dilated cardiomyopathies (DCs) and ischemic cardiomyopathies (ICs) on the single cell, proteome and whole transcriptome level, demonstrating that HF might be dependent on the involvement of not only the cardiomyocytes but also on other cell populations. Identified tissue remodelling and inflammatory processes can be beneficial when selecting targeted pharmacological management for DCs or ICs, respectively.


2013 ◽  
Vol 114 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan-Sun Kim ◽  
Seon-Hui Jang ◽  
Hwa-Young Yu ◽  
Nguyen-Duc Chung ◽  
Tae-Ho Kwon ◽  
...  

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marzia Pennati ◽  
Enrico Millo ◽  
Paolo Gandellini ◽  
Marco Folini ◽  
Nadia Zaffaroni

2012 ◽  
Vol 56 (7) ◽  
pp. 3516-3523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeonghyun Ahn ◽  
Ara Ko ◽  
Eun Jung Jun ◽  
Minah Won ◽  
Yoo Kyum Kim ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTAntiviral therapeutics are currently unavailable for treatment of coxsackievirus B3, which can cause life-threatening myocarditis. A modified small interfering RNA (siRNA) containing 5′-triphosphate, 3p-siRNA, was shown to induce RNA interference and interferon activation. We aimed to develop a potent antiviral treatment using CVB3-specific 3p-siRNA and to understand its underlying mechanisms. Virus-specific 3p-siRNA was superior to both conventional virus-specific siRNA with an empty hydroxyl group at the 5′ end (OH-siRNA) and nonspecific 3p-siRNA in decreasing viral replication and subsequent cytotoxicity. A single administration of 3p-siRNA dramatically attenuated virus-associated pathological symptoms in mice with no signs of toxicity, and their body weights eventually reached the normal range. Myocardial inflammation and fibrosis were rare, and virus production was greatly reduced. A nonspecific 3p-siRNA showed relatively less protective effect under identical conditions, and a virus-specific OH-siRNA showed no protective effects. We confirmed that virus-specific 3p-siRNA simultaneously activated target-specific gene silencing and type I interferon signaling. We provide a clear proof of concept that coxsackievirus B3-specific 3p-siRNA has 2 distinct modes of action, which significantly enhance antiviral activities with minimal organ damage. This is the first direct demonstration of improved antiviral effects with an immunostimulatory virus-specific siRNA in coxsackievirus myocarditis, and this method could be applied to many virus-related diseases.


2005 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 995 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Lew ◽  
L. A. Jackson ◽  
M. I. Bellgard

Non-coding (nc) RNAs are important regulators of developmental genes, and essential for the modification of cellular DNA and chromatin through a process known as RNA interference (RNAi). The mediators of RNAi can be in the form of short double stranded (ds) RNAs, micro (mi) RNAs or small interfering (si) RNAs. miRNAs are involved in a translation repression pathway that inhibits protein translation in mRNA targets. Comparative genomic screens have revealed conserved regulatory non-coding sequences, which assist to predict the function of endogenous miRNAs. Only a few comparative studies include bovine genomic sequence, and RNAi has yet to be applied in bovine genome functional screens. siRNAs target homologous mRNAs for degradation, and thereby, silence specific genes. The use of synthetic siRNAs facilitates the elucidation of gene pathways by specific gene knockdown. A survey of the literature identifies a small number of reports using RNAi to examine immune pathways in bovine cell lines; however, they do not target genes involved in specific production traits. Applications of RNAi to elucidate bovine immune pathways for relevant bacterial and parasite diseases are yet to be reported. The inhibition of viral replication using RNAi has been demonstrated with bovine RNA viruses such as pestivirus and foot and mouth disease virus signifying the potential of RNAi as an antiviral therapeutic. RNAi approaches combined with genome data for protozoan parasites, insects and nematodes, will expedite the identification of novel targets for the treatment and prevention of economically important parasitic infections. This review will examine the approaches used in mammalian RNAi research, the current status of its applications to livestock systems and will discuss potential applications in beef cattle programs.


PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2673 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto A. Camargo ◽  
Guilherme O. Barbosa ◽  
Isabella Presotto Possignolo ◽  
Lazaro E. P. Peres ◽  
Eric Lam ◽  
...  

RNA interference (RNAi), a gene-silencing mechanism that involves providing double-stranded RNA molecules that match a specific target gene sequence, is now widely used in functional genetic studies. The potential application of RNAi-mediated control of agricultural insect pests has rapidly become evident. The production of transgenic plants expressing dsRNA molecules that target essential insect genes could provide a means of specific gene silencing in larvae that feed on these plants, resulting in larval phenotypes that range from loss of appetite to death. In this report, we show that the tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta), a major threat to commercial tomato production, can be targeted by RNAi. We selected two target genes (Vacuolar ATPase-AandArginine kinase) based on the RNAi response reported for these genes in other pest species. In view of the lack of an artificial diet forT. absoluta, we used two approaches to deliver dsRNA into tomato leaflets. The first approach was based on the uptake of dsRNA by leaflets and the second was based on “in planta-induced transient gene silencing” (PITGS), a well-established method for silencing plant genes, used here for the first time to deliverin planta-transcribed dsRNA to target insect genes.Tuta absolutalarvae that fed on leaves containing dsRNA of the target genes showed an ∼60% reduction in target gene transcript accumulation, an increase in larval mortality and less leaf damage. We then generated transgenic ‘Micro-Tom’ tomato plants that expressed hairpin sequences for both genes and observed a reduction in foliar damage byT. absolutain these plants. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of RNAi as an alternative method for controlling this critical tomato pest.


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