RNA Interference News and Research

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Repurposed gout medication (probenecid) shows potent inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 replication

New research by a team of scientists in the USA describes the potential utility of a drug called probenecid, commonly used to treat gout, to treat this devastating viral illness caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the causative virus of COVID-19.

25 May 2021

A promising drug delivery system for therapeutics that shut down harmful genes

Viruses attack the body by sending their genetic code -- DNA and RNA -- into cells and multiplying. A promising class of therapeutics that uses synthetic nucleic acids to target and shut down specific, harmful genes and prevent viruses from spreading is gaining steam.

18 May 2021

Research opens up the possibility of dietary therapy for cancer

A research group at the RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research (BDR) has discovered molecular events that determine whether cancer cells live or die. With this knowledge, they found that reduced consumption of a specific protein building block prevents the growth of cells that become cancerous.

27 Apr 2021

Interfering RNA nanoparticles could be a potential COVID-19 therapy

Study shows lipid nanoparticle-based siRNA is potent in suppressing severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) – the causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) – in cells as well as in mice models.

21 Apr 2021

SARS-CoV-2 inhibits the cellular response to interferon

Researchers have explored the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on the function of RIG-I and MDA5, and ultimately on interferon production.

31 Mar 2021

Researchers examine SARS-CoV-2 RNA interactome

A new study focuses on the identification of RNA-binding protein by mass spectrometry (ChIRP-M/S) approach. This study develops a global map that contains the complete set of host proteins that involve the SARS-CoV-2 genome during infection. This study has successfully identified new SARS-CoV-2 host dependency factors by merging proteomics data with gene silencing experiments. Such a discovery has paved new roads to develop more antiviral therapies.

25 Mar 2021

The role of S-acylation in the enhancement of SARS-CoV-2 infectivity

A new study published on the bioRxiv server focuses on the role of S-acylation in the SARS-CoV-2 infection cycle. It has also characterized Spike acylation and has also identified other acylated viral proteins and host enzymes involved in the process of infection. Further, it has also revealed the importance of acylation in viral biogenesis and infection.

18 Mar 2021

A missing protein explains the appearance of tumor cells in people with Mulibrey syndrome

Researchers from the Andalusian Centre for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine (CABIMER), in collaboration with the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC) have studied the mechanisms behind the higher tendency of people with Mulibrey syndrome to develop tumors.

26 Feb 2021

COVID-19 pandemic and nanotechnology

Writing in the International Journal of Nanomedicine, Professor Dongki Yang, from the Department of Physiology, Gachon University, South Korea, has reviewed the available knowledge on the coronaviruses, current approaches to tackle the newly emerged SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the innovative application of nanotechnology in the COVID-19 pandemic.

8 Feb 2021

New combination therapy proven to be highly effective in HBV infection model

Around 260 million people, more than three percent of the global population, are chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV); in the long term, this often leads to complications such as liver cirrhosis and liver cancer.

4 Feb 2021

Songbird system may provide new treatment options for children with autism

Inactivating a gene in young songbirds that are closely linked with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) prevents the birds from forming memories necessary to accurately reproduce their fathers' songs, a new study led by UT Southwestern shows.

4 Feb 2021

Research provides new insights into Glioblastoma invasiveness

One of the hallmarks of Glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain cancer, is its high invasive capacity, which leads to its expansion into the normal brain tissue.

11 Dec 2020

New findings could pave the way for more effective, safer and cheaper gene therapy

In a promising advance for affordable, personalized medicine, researchers have used metal-organic frameworks to successfully deliver the genetic snipping tool CRISPR/Cas9 into human cancer cells.

20 Nov 2020

Scientists identify new therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2

To identify new potential therapeutic targets for SARS-CoV-2, a team of scientists at the New York Genome Center, New York University, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, performed a genome-scale, loss-of-function CRISPR screen to systematically knockout all genes in the human genome.

27 Oct 2020

New research on small non-coding RNAs and SARS-CoV-2

A recently published mini-review in the Frontiers in Microbiology on the altered expression of small non-coding RNAs during coronavirus-mediated infections.

26 Oct 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

Two studies shed light on the biology and potential vulnerabilities of schistosomes

Two studies led by UT Southwestern researchers shed light on the biology and potential vulnerabilities of schistosomes - parasitic flatworms that cause the little-known tropical disease schistosomiasis.

24 Sep 2020

NSD2 enzyme protects against cellular senescence

Researchers from Kumamoto University in Japan have used comprehensive genetic analysis to find that the enzyme NSD2, which is known to regulate the actions of many genes, also works to block cell aging.

7 Aug 2020

Vesigen Therapeutics to develop and commercialize novel drug-delivery technologies

Harvard University's Office of Technology Development (OTD) and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health today announced the launch of Vesigen Therapeutics, a startup company that aims to overcome the challenge of delivering next-generation therapeutics, such as gene-editing complexes, RNA molecules, and other large proteins, to intracellular targets in specific tissues of interest.

23 Jul 2020