Efficient RNAi-induced protein knockdown in somatic cells using diced or chemically produced small interfering RNAs (siRNA)
César Simiano Tavares, Kaiode Mello e Pinho, Raquelde Sá Carneiro, IgorHenrique de Aguiar, LuísEnrique Méndez Calderón, CarlosTondello Martins, LeonardoEduardo Ambrósio, CarlosAnne Maga, ElizabetharceloarceloarceloDonald Murray, JamesRelly Bertolini, Luciana
Background: RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-transcriptional gene silencing process in which double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) directs the degradation of a specifi c corresponding target mRNA. The mediators of this process are small dsRNAs of approximately 21 to 23 bp in length, called small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which can be prepared in vitro and used to direct the degradation of specifi c mRNAs inside cells. Hence, siRNAs represent a powerful tool to study and control gene and cell function. Rapid progress has been made in the use of siRNA as a means to attenuate the expression of any protein for which the cDNA sequence is known. Individual siRNAs can be chemically synthesized, in vitro-transcribed, or expressed in cells from siRNA expression vectors. However, screening for the most effi cient siRNAs for post-transcriptional gene silencing in cells in culture is a laborious and expensive process. In this study, the effectiveness of two siRNA production strategies for the attenuation of abundant proteins for DNA repair were compared in human cells: (a) the in vitro production of siRNA mixtures by the Dicer enzyme (Diced siRNAs); and (b) the chemical synthesis of very specifi c and unique siRNA sequences (Stealth RNaiTM).Materials, Methods & Results: For in vitro-produced siRNAs, two segments of the human Ku70 (167 bp in exon 5; and 249 bp in exon 13; NM001469) and Xrcc4 (1
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