A RNA producing DNA hydrogel as a platform for a high performance RNA interference system.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 30337586.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-018-06864-0 and PMC identifier 6193956.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
RNA interference (RNAi) is a mechanism in which small interfering RNA (siRNA) silences a target gene. Herein, we describe a DNA hydrogel capable of producing siRNA and interfering with protein expression. This RNAi-exhibiting gel (termed I-gel for interfering gel) consists of a plasmid carrying the gene transcribing siRNA against the target mRNA as part of the gel scaffold. The RNAi efficiency of the I-gel has been confirmed by green fluorescent protein (GFP) expression assay and RNA production quantification. The plasmid stability in the I-gel results in an 8-times higher transcription efficiency than that of the free plasmid. We further applied the I-gel to live cells and confirmed its effect in interfering with the GFP expression. The I-gel shows higher RNAi effect than plasmids in free form or complexed with Lipofectamine. This nanoscale hydrogel, which is able to produce RNA in a cell, provides a platform technology for efficient RNAi system.
Medical subject headings
- DNA
- Hydrogels
- RNA
- RNA Interference