小型非编码RNA:在阿尔茨海默病中开创了一个新的治疗时代

Small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, are short regulatory RNA molecules that can silence genes post-transcriptionally, as well as the transcriptional level in some cases. siRNAs are important for protecting cells against viral infections and silencing transposable genetic elements.
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...

RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...

Alzheimer's Disease (AD), a neurodegenerative disorder, is pathologically identified by amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles composed of tau protein. AD pharmacotherapy aims to manage cognitive symptoms, delay disease progression, and treat behavioral symptoms. The treatment is primarily symptomatic and palliative, with no definitive disease-modifying therapy available. Cholinesterase inhibitors, including donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Razadyne), are...

RNA interference (RNAi) is a process in which a small non-coding RNA molecule blocks the post-transcriptional expression of a gene by binding to its messenger RNA (mRNA) and preventing the protein from being translated.
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...

In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA...