Emergence of Chemical Biology Approaches to the RNAi/miRNA Pathway

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Yujing Li, Emory University; Chuan He, The University of Chicago; Peng Jin, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2010-06-25
• Publisher: Elsevier (Cell Press)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2010.05.014
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Chemistry and Biology
• ISSN: 1074-5521
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 6
• Start Page: 584
• End Page: 589
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported in part by NIH grants (R01 MH076090 and MH078972).; P.J. is a recipient of the Beckman Young Investigator Award and the Basil O'Connor Scholar Research Award, as well as an Alfred P Sloan Research Fellow in Neuroscience.
• Research Categories: Biology, Genetics

Abstract

Summary RNA interference (RNAi) is a well-conserved mechanism that uses small noncoding RNAs to silence gene expression posttranscriptionally. Gene regulation by RNAi is now recognized as one of the major regulatory pathways in eukaryotic cells. Although the main components of the RNAi/miRNA pathway have been identified, the molecular mechanisms regulating the activity of the RNAi/miRNA pathway have only begun to emerge within the last couple of years. Recently, high-throughput reporter assays to monitor the activity of the RNAi/miRNA pathway have been developed and used for proof-of-concept pilot screens. Both inhibitors and activators of the RNAi/miRNA pathway have been found. Although still in its infancy, a chemical biology approach using high-throughput chemical screens should open up a new avenue for dissecting the RNAi/miRNA pathway, as well as developing novel RNAi- or miRNA-based therapeutic interventions.