DMMC Course: UNRAVELLING CHROMATIN & THE ROLE OF EPIGENETICS IN DISEASE

1600-1620 Tuesday 25 April 2006. UCD Conway Institute Lecture Theatre

Experimental application of siRNA technology
Dr Jane Farrar (Smurfit Institute of Genetics, TCD)

RNA interference (RNAi) represents a potent means of achieving sequence specific suppression of gene expression. RNAi has had a rapid rise to power since the observation in 1998 by Andrew Fire and colleagues that double stranded RNA (dsRNA) could be used to suppress gene expression in C. elegans. Subsequently, RNAi has been shown to be relevant to mammals and potent gene silencing has been achieved both in vitro and in vivo using small interfering RNAs (siRNA) which are typically dsRNA molecules of between 15-27 base pairs. In vivo delivery of siRNAs has been shown to provide therapeutic benefit in a number of animal models simulating human disorders including spinocerebellar ataxia and Huntington’s disease. In addition, endogenously expressed siRNAs have been implicated in driving chromatin structures. In summary, key developments in the field of RNAi over the past few years will be discussed.