Research into RNA, a molecule found in every cell of our bodies, could lead to remarkable advances in the treatment of diseases such as cancer and diabetes, a meeting organised by the European Science Foundation was told.
The conference, held the institute of Parasitología y Biomedicina "López-Neyra", CSIC in Granada, Spain, on 23 February 2009, was part of an ESF initiative to develop a coherent strategy for RNA research in Europe in recognition of the potential of RNA to result in new approaches to treating human diseases.
For many years it was believed that RNA's sole function in cells was to transmit genetic information from DNA during the manufacture of proteins - the cell's workhorse molecules. However, in recent years it has become clear that RNA has many more sophisticated functions and that there are more types of RNA than previously known.
The field exploded into activity with the discovery in 1998 by US researchers Andrew Fire and Craig Mello of a phenomenon called RNA interference, meaning that genes can be 'silenced' by RNA. This discovery, for which Fire and Mello were awarded the Nobel Prize in 2006, revolutionised the way scientists think about how genetic information is controlled in cells, and has opened the possibility of using gene silencing as a therapy where rogue genes cause disease.
"Research into RNA has great promise for both basic science and biotechnology and medicine," said the meeting's chairman, Professor Lars Thelander of Umeå University in Sweden. "Most pharmaceutical companies now have RNA projects, but the field is still in its early days and it could be another ten years before we see products appearing in the clinics."