The siRNA Non-seed Region and Its Target Sequences Are Auxiliary Determinants of Off-Target Effects.

ABSTRACT: RNA interference (RNAi) is a powerful tool for post-transcriptional gene silencing. However, the siRNA guide strand may bind unintended off-target transcripts via partial sequence complementarity by a mechanism closely mirroring micro RNA (miRNA) silencing. To better understand these off-target effects, we investigated the correlation between sequence features within various subsections of siRNA guide strands, and its corresponding target sequences, with off-target activities. Our results confirm previous reports that strength of base-pairing in the siRNA seed region is the primary factor determining the efficiency of off-target silencing. However, the degree of downregulation of off-target transcripts with shared seed sequence is not necessarily similar, suggesting that there are addition

SUBMITTER: Kamola PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4676691 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature