Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026

Sequence-specific and Selective Recognition of Double-stranded RNAs over Single-stranded RNAs by Chemically Modified Peptide Nucleic Acids
Published on: September 21, 2017
Arabinonucleic acids: 2'-stereoisomeric modulators of siRNA activity
Maryam Yahyaee Anzahaee1, Glen F Deleavey, Phuong Uyen Le
11 Department of Chemistry, McGill University , Montreal, Quebec, Canada .
Abstract:
We have investigated, for the first time, short interfering duplexes containing arabinonucleotides (ANA; the 2'-stereoisomer of RNA), as well as combinations of ANA with RNA, and their 2'-fluorinated derivatives 2F-ANA and/or 2'F-RNA. The results show that ANA is especially well accommodated in the sense strand of small interfering RNA (siRNA) duplexes, which can be extensively modified with little effect on potency. Furthermore, combining ANA with RNA and 2'F-ANA in siRNA passenger strands, particularly in patterns that bias duplex thermal stability, produces duplexes with similar (and sometimes enhanced) potency compared with native siRNA. Effective patterns of modification were identified against firefly luciferase screens in HeLa cells and then applied to knockdown of down-regulated in renal cell carcinoma (DRR), a novel and clinically tractable target for the treatment of glioblastoma.
Related Concept Videos
RNA Interference
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
RNA Interference
siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the...
Experimental RNAi
Types of RNA
Three main types of RNA are involved in protein synthesis: messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). These RNAs perform diverse functions and can be broadly classified as protein-coding or non-coding RNA. Non-coding RNAs play important roles in the regulation of gene expression in response to developmental and environmental changes. Non-coding RNAs in prokaryotes can be manipulated to develop more effective antibacterial drugs for human or animal use.
RNA...
Types of RNA
RNA Performs Diverse...

