Title
RNAi in human cells: basic structural and functional features of small interfering RNA
UMMS Affiliation
Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology
Publication Date
2002-11-01
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences
Abstract
We investigated the mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) in human cells. Here we demonstrate that the status of the 5' hydroxyl terminus of the antisense strand of a siRNA determines RNAi activity, while a 3' terminus block is tolerated in vivo. 5' hydroxyl termini of antisense strands isolated from human cells were phosphorylated, and 3' end biotin groups were not efficiently removed. We found no requirement for a perfect A-form helix in siRNA for interference effects, but an A-form structure was required for antisense-target RNA duplexes. Strikingly, crosslinking of the siRNA duplex by psoralen did not completely block RNA interference, indicating that complete unwinding of the siRNA helix is not necessary for RNAi activity in vivo. These results suggest that RNA amplification by RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is not essential for RNAi in human cells.
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/S1097-2765(02)00652-4
Source
Mol Cell. 2002 Sep;10(3):549-61.
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Molecular cell
Related Resources
PubMed ID
12408823
Repository Citation
Chiu Y, Rana TM. (2002). RNAi in human cells: basic structural and functional features of small interfering RNA. GSBS Student Publications. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1097-2765(02)00652-4. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_sp/213