Wang Quan-Chu, Nie Qing-He, Feng Zhi-Hua
The Center of Diagnosis and Treatment for Infectious Diseases of Chinese PLA, Tangdu Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710038, Shaanxi Province, China.
World J Gastroenterol. 2003 Aug;9(8):1657-61. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v9.i8.1657.
RNA interference (RNAi) is a remarkable type of gene regulation based on sequence-specific targeting and degradation of RNA. The term encompasses related pathways found in a broad range of eukaryotic organisms, including fungi, plants, and animals. RNA interference is part of a sophisticated network of interconnected pathways for cellular defense, RNA surveillance, and development and it may become a powerful tool to manipulate gene expression experimentally. RNAi technology is currently being evaluated not only as an extremely powerful instrument for functional genomic analyses, but also as a potentially useful method to develop specific dsRNA based gene-silencing therapeutics. Several laboratories have been interested in using RNAi to control viral infection and many reports in Nature and in Cell show that short interfering (si) RNAs can inhibit infection by HIV-1, polio and hepatitis C viruses in a sequence-specific manner. RNA-based strategies for gene inhibition in mammalian cells have recently been described, which offer the promise of antiviral therapy.
RNA干扰（RNAi）是一种基于RNA的序列特异性靶向和降解的显著基因调控方式。该术语涵盖了在广泛的真核生物中发现的相关途径，包括真菌、植物和动物。RNA干扰是细胞防御、RNA监测和发育的复杂相互连接途径网络的一部分，并且它可能成为一种通过实验操纵基因表达的强大工具。目前，RNAi技术不仅被评估为功能基因组分析的极其强大的工具，而且作为开发基于双链RNA（dsRNA）的特异性基因沉默疗法的潜在有用方法。几个实验室一直对使用RNAi来控制病毒感染感兴趣，并且《自然》和《细胞》杂志上的许多报道表明，短干扰（si）RNA可以以序列特异性方式抑制HIV-1、脊髓灰质炎病毒和丙型肝炎病毒的感染。最近已经描述了用于哺乳动物细胞中基因抑制的基于RNA的策略，这为抗病毒治疗带来了希望。
