Watson School of Biological Sciences, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York 11724, USA.
Nat Rev Genet. 2013 Feb;14(2):100-12. doi: 10.1038/nrg3355.
A growing number of functions are emerging for RNA interference (RNAi) in the nucleus, in addition to well-characterized roles in post-transcriptional gene silencing in the cytoplasm. Epigenetic modifications directed by small RNAs have been shown to cause transcriptional repression in plants, fungi and animals. Additionally, increasing evidence indicates that RNAi regulates transcription through interaction with transcriptional machinery. Nuclear small RNAs include small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and are implicated in nuclear processes such as transposon regulation, heterochromatin formation, developmental gene regulation and genome stability.
越来越多的功能被发现存在于 RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 中，除了在细胞质中转录后基因沉默的作用已被很好地描述外。小 RNA 介导的表观遗传修饰已被证明能在植物、真菌和动物中引起转录抑制。此外，越来越多的证据表明，RNAi 通过与转录机制的相互作用来调节转录。核内小 RNA 包括小干扰 RNA (siRNA) 和 PIWI 相互作用 RNA (piRNA)，并涉及核内过程，如转座子调控、异染色质形成、发育基因调控和基因组稳定性。
