What is short hairpin RNA?
A short hairpin RNA or small hairpin RNA (shRNA/Hairpin Vector) is an artificial RNA molecule with a tight hairpin turn that can be used to silence target gene expression via RNA interference (RNAi).
What is RNAi gene silencing?
RNA interference (RNAi) or Post-Transcriptional Gene Silencing (PTGS) is a conserved biological response to double-stranded RNA that mediates resistance to both endogenous parasitic and exogenous pathogenic nucleic acids, and regulates the expression of protein-coding genes.
What is RNAi explain with example?
RNAi is short for “RNA interference” and it refers to a phenomenon where small pieces of RNA can shut down protein translation by binding to the messenger RNAs that code for those proteins. RNA interference is a natural process with a role in the regulation of protein synthesis and in immunity.
What is difference between siRNA and shRNA?
Definition. siRNA refers to a single-stranded RNA molecule produced by the cleavage and processing of double-stranded RNA while shRNA refers to a short sequence of RNA which makes a tight hairpin turn and can be used to silence gene expression. Thus, this is the main difference between siRNA and shRNA.
What causes RNA hairpin loop?
The structure is also known as a hairpin or hairpin loop. It occurs when two regions of the same molecule, usually palindromic in nucleotide sequence, base-pair to form a double helix that ends in an unpaired loop. The resulting lollipop-shaped structure is a key building block of many RNA secondary structures.
What is shRNA/Hairpin Vector?
A short hairpin RNA or small hairpin RNA ( shRNA /Hairpin Vector) is an artificial RNA molecule with a tight hairpin turn that can be used to silence target gene expression via RNA interference (RNAi).
What is the role of shRNA in gene therapy?
In the case of imperfect complementarity, RISC represses translation of the mRNA. In both of these cases, the shRNA leads to target gene silencing. Due to the ability of shRNA to provide specific, long-lasting, gene silencing there has been great interest in using shRNA for gene therapy applications.
How is RNA interference used to study gene function?
Shortly after the cellular mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) was first described, scientists began using this powerful technique to study gene function. This included designing better methods for the successful delivery of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) into mammalian cells.
What is an example of a control gene for siRNA?
Some examples of common control genes for siRNA or shRNA are firefly luciferase and green fluores-cence protein. 7It is helpful to design a sequencing primer for each strand since the secondary structure of the hairpin often makes it selectively more difficult to read through one strand.
