RNA Interference News and Research

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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

RNA interference machinery influences epithelial cell biology

Epithelial cells are held together and connected by several different types of structures that form cell-cell contacts.

9 May 2020

Coronaviruses represent a source of pandemic viruses

In a new paper published on the preprint journal bioRxiv in April 2020, researcher T. Konishi argues that the coronavirus family is a constellation of pandemic pathogens, that includes the currently spreading severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

29 Apr 2020

New brain cell models created to evaluate therapies for Sanfilippo C syndrome

The Sanfilippo syndrome type C is a severe neurodegenerative disease which appearws during the first years of life and for which there is no treatment yet.

24 Apr 2020

Study shows possible way to effectively deliver RNA drugs to tumors

In recent years, RNA molecules, with the ability to affect or turn off pathogenic genes, have become promising drug candidates in several areas.

15 Apr 2020

Researchers identify key modifier in large genetic deletion linked to neurodevelopmental disorders

Neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia and autism, likely result from complex interactions that modify the effects of individual genes.

16 Feb 2020

P53-deficient oral cancers recruit and reprogram nerves to fuel tumor growth

Loss of an important tumor-suppressing gene allows head and neck cancer to spin off signals to nearby nerves, changing their function and recruiting them to the tumor, where they fuel growth and cancer progression, researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal Nature today.

13 Feb 2020

Study shows how gene therapy may help protect against vision loss in multiple sclerosis

New research by Dorothy P. Schafer, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, reveals the molecular process in which synaptic connections in the brain are damaged in multiple sclerosis and how this contributes to neurodegenerative symptoms.

21 Jan 2020

New study sheds light on storage and retrieval of hardwired long-term memory

Storing and retrieving memories is among the most important tasks our intricate brains must perform, yet how that happens at a molecular level remains incompletely understood.

13 Jan 2020

Researchers identify protein that is key for successful viral DNA uncoating

Viruses have been part of animals and humans for eons. When viruses invade a cell, they can infiltrate the nucleus with their genome and become part of the genome of the infected organism. Viruses transfer their genes between various organisms, as well as between tissues containing well differentiated cells inside a living creature. But how they uncoat their well-packed genes and release them to cause infection is largely unknown.

17 Dec 2019

ICR scientists carry out first comprehensive assessment of chemical probe resources

A new report urges biomedical researchers to use online web resources very carefully, taking into account their complementary benefits and weaknesses, when selecting small-molecule chemical probes to help answer their research questions.

28 Nov 2019

Novel insight into microRNA function can be crucial for the development of gene therapy

Scientists at the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Oxford have shown that small RNA molecules occurring naturally in cells, i.e. microRNAs, are also abundant in cell nuclei.

18 Jul 2019

Egg yolk precursor protein plays key role in regulating mosquitos’ attraction to humans

Feeding mosquitoes sugar makes them less attracted to humans, a response that is regulated by the protein vitellogenin, according to a study publishing May 9 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Jessica Dittmer, Paolo Gabrieli and colleagues at the Università degli Studi di Pavia in Italy.

10 May 2019

Study describes vulnerability shared by large subset of cancer cell lines

Cancer cells adapt to potentially fatal mutations and other molecular malfunctions by adjusting one or more other genes' activity, in the process becoming dependent on those genes for their survival and growth.

12 Apr 2019

Large-scale screen efficiently identifies drugs that are potent cancer-killers

UC San Francisco scientists have designed a large-scale screen that efficiently identifies drugs that are potent cancer-killers when combined, but only weakly effective when used alone.

10 Apr 2019

Liver tissue model can help investigate the effects of RNA interference

Novel therapies based on a process known as RNA interference hold great promise for treating a variety of diseases by blocking specific genes in a patient's cells. Many of the earliest RNAi treatments have focused on diseases of the liver, because RNA-carrying particles tend to accumulate in that organ.

6 Mar 2019

Researchers outline targeted therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer

New findings put forth by the University of Maryland Fischell Department of Bioengineering and researchers from four other academic institutions outline a targeted therapeutic strategy to treat triple-negative breast cancer - a potential first for the particularly aggressive form of breast cancer.

26 Feb 2019

New acute porphyria treatment shows promising results in clinical study

Acute porphyria is a group of uncommon diseases that can cause severe, potentially life-threatening attacks of abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and paralysis. Liver transplantation is currently the only effective treatment available for the most seriously afflicted patients.

7 Feb 2019

RBSC announces partnership with Mitacs to develop and test yeast-based RNAi technology

Renaissance BioScience Corp., a leading global microorganism bioengineering company, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Mitacs, the University of British Columbia and the University of Manitoba for a three-year, Cdn$975,000 multi-investigator research and development project.

24 Jan 2019

Study shows an unusual mechanism could have thwart the invasion of human genome by junk DNA

In the January 7th edition of Communications Biology, researchers at InsideOutBio argue that an unusual form of DNA with a reverse twist may have helped thwart the invasion of the human genome by junk DNA.

11 Jan 2019