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Updated: Jul 20, 2026

Bacterial Delivery of RNAi Effectors: Transkingdom RNAi
Published on: August 18, 2010
RNA-interference effectors and their delivery
1Department of Biomedical Engineering and the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
Abstract:
RNA-interference, the mechanism by which the expression of a specific protein can be reduced or eliminated, has emerged as a potential way to treat disease. RNA-interference effectors, such as small interfering RNA and small hairpin RNA, are double-stranded nucleic acid sequences expressly designed to have homology to sections of the target protein's mRNA, and when present in the cytosol trigger hydrolysis of the mRNA through the RNA-interference pathway. Because RNA-interference effectors are macromolecular and typically polyanionic, their efficacy is poor when not accompanied by a delivery vehicle. This review outlines the RNA-interference mechanism and discusses the delivery of RNA-interference effectors, with an emphasis on synthetic polymer-based delivery systems.
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