Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390, USA.
Annu Rev Biochem. 2010;79:295-319. doi: 10.1146/annurev.biochem.052208.151733.
The discovery of RNA interference (RNAi) is among the most significant biomedical breakthroughs in recent history. Multiple classes of small RNA, including small-interfering RNA (siRNA), micro-RNA (miRNA), and piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA), play important roles in many fundamental biological and disease processes. Collective studies in multiple organisms, including plants, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, and mammals indicate that these pathways are highly conserved throughout evolution. Thus, scientists across disciplines have found novel pathways to unravel, new insights in probing pathology, and nascent technologies to develop. The field of RNAi also provides a clear framework for understanding fundamental principles of biochemistry. The current review highlights elegant, reason-based experimentation in discovering RNA-directed biological phenomena and the importance of robust assay development in translating these observations into mechanistic understanding. This biochemical template also provides a conceptual framework for overcoming emerging challenges in the field and for understanding an expanding small RNA world.
RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 的发现是近年来最重大的生物医学突破之一。多种小 RNA 类别，包括小干扰 RNA (siRNA)、微 RNA (miRNA) 和 piwi 相互作用 RNA (piRNA)，在许多基本的生物学和疾病过程中发挥着重要作用。包括植物、果蝇、秀丽隐杆线虫和哺乳动物在内的多种生物体的综合研究表明，这些途径在进化过程中高度保守。因此，不同学科的科学家发现了新的途径来揭示、在探索病理学方面的新见解，以及新兴技术的发展。RNAi 领域也为理解生物化学的基本原理提供了一个明确的框架。目前的综述强调了在发现 RNA 指导的生物学现象方面的优雅、基于理由的实验，以及在将这些观察结果转化为机制理解方面开发强大测定法的重要性。这个生化模板还为克服该领域中出现的新挑战以及理解不断扩大的小 RNA 世界提供了一个概念框架。
