Gene Silencing News and Research

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Transcriptional regulator BRD2 as a potential therapeutic target for COVID-19

A team of international scientists has demonstrated that therapeutic inhibition of a transcriptional regulator BRD2, required for the endogenous expression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), can potentially suppress severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The study is currently available on the bioRxiv* preprint server.

24 Jan 2021

Researchers resolve mysteries about the function of key gene-silencing protein

A long-running debate over how an important gene-silencing protein identifies its targets has been resolved by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH).

4 Jan 2021

SARS-CoV-2's microRNAs may have promoted its jump to humans

A new study uses machine learning to explore the small microRNAs (or miRNAs) of SARS-CoV-2 that may determine the virus's ability to successfully infect humans by altering the course of transcriptional events.

1 Dec 2020

Researchers develop new strategy to improve siRNA stability

RNA interference is a gene regulatory mechanism in which the expression of specific genes is downregulated by endogenous microRNAs or by small interfering RNAs (siRNAs).

16 Oct 2020

A SARS-CoV-2 assay using plant proteins

Researchers in South Africa have developed a serological assay that readily detects antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) using recombinant viral proteins produced in plants.

5 Aug 2020

siRNA-based treatment can reduce psoriasis symptoms

Psoriasis, a chronic skin condition that causes itchy, red, scaly patches, afflicts more than 8 million Americans and 125 million people worldwide.

23 Jul 2020

Blocking tumor-promoting protein could bolster immunotherapy's effectiveness, study suggests

While immunotherapy -- a form of treatment that uses the body's immune system to recognize, attack and kill tumor cells -- has given hope to people across the globe, it fails in a significant proportion of cancer patients.

8 Jul 2020

New strategies can help increase the efficiency of artificial cell reprogramming

Maria-Elena: Can you imagine being able to artificially generate cells that can develop into any cell type? That would be really fantastic! We call this ability 'totipotency' and it is the highest level of cellular plasticity.

6 Jul 2020

Novel antisense drug shows promise to improve health of people with NAFLD

Using a first-of-its-class drug in a clinical trial, an international research effort headed by a scientist at University of California San Diego School of Medicine reports that inhibition of a key enzyme safely and effectively improved the health of persons with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a chronic metabolic disorder that affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide.

16 Jun 2020

Drug offers hope for patients with primary hyperoxaluria type 1

Primary hyperoxaluria type 1 (PH1) is an autosomal recessive inherited disorder that begins in childhood and adolescence.

8 Jun 2020

AFFiRiS announces preclinical results of monoclonal antibody mAB C6-17 in Huntington's

AFFiRiS, a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel disease-modifying specific active immunotherapies, today announced that detailed preclinical results with its monoclonal antibody mAB C6-17 to treat Huntington's Disease were published in the peer-reviewed journal Neurobiology of Disease.

3 Jun 2020

UMD professor outlines new theoretical framework for heredity

The common view of heredity is that all information passed down from one generation to the next is stored in an organism's DNA. But Antony Jose, associate professor of cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland, disagrees.

23 Apr 2020

Research provides new insights into molecular basis of X-chromosome inactivation

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and Institut Curie in Paris have shown that the protein SPEN plays a crucial role in the process of X-chromosome inactivation, whereby female mammalian embryos silence gene expression on one of their two X chromosomes.

7 Feb 2020

Research findings may one day help keep ALS at bay

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine on December 23, 2019, shows how to silence a defective gene responsible for the degeneration of the motor neurons in Lou Gehrig’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in adult mice. This could help prevent disease progression if the condition is already symptomatic, and even suppress the illness if it has not yet started.

23 Dec 2019

Scientists uncover new link between pathways involved in RNA degradation

A recent study by a team of scientists in Korea reveals new findings about how various systems involved in cellular surveillance interact. This research is the first to identify a "cross-talk" molecule between these systems. Because these pathways are involved in fighting toxic cellular or foreign substances, the study has various potential applications in antiviral development, gene therapy, and agriculture.

6 Dec 2019

Discovery enables strategies to be developed for preventing malaria transmission

The bacteria that form the gut microbiota influence important processes of the human body, such as digestion, nutrient absorption, and defense against pathogens. The same type of relationship is present in most animals, including in the Anhopheles darlingi mosquito, the main vector of malaria in Brazil.

22 Nov 2019