Cited by 1,081RNA Interference and Gene DeliveryMicroRNA in disease regulationRNA regulation and disease

siRNA versus miRNA as therapeutics for gene silencing

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Lam, Jenny K W, Chow, Michael Y T, Zhang, Yu, Leung, Susan W S·2015·Molecular Therapy — Nucleic Acids

Abstract

Discovered a little over two decades ago, small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding RNAs with important roles in gene regulation. They have recently been investigated as novel classes of therapeutic agents for the treatment of a wide range of disorders including cancers and infections. Clinical trials of siRNA- and miRNA-based drugs have already been initiated. siRNAs and miRNAs share many similarities, both are short duplex RNA molecules that exert gene silencing effects at the post-transcriptional level by targeting messenger RNA (mRNA), yet their mechanisms of action and clinical applications are distinct. The major difference between siRNAs and miRNAs is that the former are highly specific with only one mRNA target, whereas the latter have multiple targets. The therapeutic approaches of siRNAs and miRNAs are therefore very different. Hence, this review provides a comparison between therapeutic siRNAs and miRNAs in terms of their mechanisms of action, physicochemical properties, delivery, and clinical applications. Moreover, the challenges in developing both classes of RNA as therapeutics are also discussed.

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Authors
Lam, J. K. W., Chow, M. Y. T., Zhang, Y., & Leung, S. W. S.
Affiliations
University of Hong Kong (HK)
Corresponding author
Lam, Jenny K W
Venue
Molecular Therapy — Nucleic Acids
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015
Volume
4
Pages
e252
ISSN
2162-2531 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2216033157
Cited by
1,081
References
220
Citations by year
2026: 62 · 2025: 115 · 2024: 143 · 2023: 140 · 2022: 115 · 2021: 130 · 2020: 93 · 2019: 79 · 2018: 82 · 2017: 63 · 2016: 57 · 2015: 2
FWCI
6.59
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Therapy — Nucleic Acids (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • The HKU Scholars Hub (University of Hong Kong) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › RNA regulation and disease
Keywords
siRNA, microRNA, RNA therapeutics, gene silencing, post-transcriptional regulation, siRNA delivery, microRNA delivery, cancer therapy, infection treatment

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