siRNAmod: A database of experimentally validated chemically modified siRNAs

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Bioinformatics
• Genomics

Background:

• Small interfering RNA (siRNA) technology holds promise for functional genomics and therapeutic applications.
• siRNAs face challenges with nuclease digestion, leading to instability and short biological half-lives.
• Chemical modifications offer a solution to improve siRNA stability and therapeutic efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the lack of a comprehensive bioinformatics resource for chemically modified siRNAs (cm-siRNAs).
• To develop and present siRNAmod, a specialized database for cm-siRNAs.

Main Methods:

• Compilation of 4894 chemically modified-siRNA sequences with 128 unique modifications.
• Inclusion of detailed information: sequence, modification type, position, structure, SMILES, efficacy, target gene, cell line, experimental methods, and references.
• Development using LAMP software bundle with integrated browse, search, and analysis tools.

Main Results:

• The siRNAmod database contains a substantial collection of cm-siRNA data.
• The database provides comprehensive details on modifications, sequences, and experimental validation.
• User-friendly tools facilitate data exploration and analysis.

Conclusions:

• siRNAmod serves as a valuable bioinformatics resource for chemically modified siRNAs.
• The database will aid in understanding modification effects and developing improved siRNA therapeutics.
• siRNAmod is freely accessible to researchers for advancing siRNA technology.