jane2007 submitted, created time 9 months 1 week (www.nature.com)

Two studies highlight promise and problems for gene silencing technique. Researchers could offer a new way by microRNA interference to treat conditions from cancer to cardiovascular disease. But another study shows that the effects of RNAi on genes involved in a severe form of blindness called age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In this case RNAi-causing drugs have already gone into trials. It isn't that the drugs don't work; it's that they work no matter what siRNA sequence is used. This brings the current understanding of the mechanism of RNA interference into question.

Submit comment | Blog It | Email It | Keywords: cardiovascular disease gene silencing gene therapy miR-122 blindness cancer siRNA miRNA microRNAs microRNA RNAi RNA interference macular degeneration