Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 26, 2025

Dual CRISPR-Interference Strategy for Targeting Synthetic Lethal Interactions Between Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer Cells
Published on: May 30, 2025
PIWI-interacting RNAs in cancer: Biogenesis, function, and clinical significance
Jie Yao1, Mei Xie2, Xidong Ma2
1Department of Respiratory and Critical Care, Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a less-studied class of small non-coding RNAs approximately 24-31 nucleotides in length. They express in germline and somatic cells and form complexes with PIWI proteins to exert regulatory effects. New studies show that piRNAs are aberrantly expressed in various cancers. In this review, we focus on those piRNAs that are associated with cancer hallmarks such as proliferation, invasion, and chemoresistance and discuss their potential as biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and prognosis.
Related Concept Videos
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Experimental RNAi
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...
lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs
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...
The Nucleolus

