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Open AccessJournal ArticleDOI

RNAi for Treating Hepatitis B Viral Infection

TLDR
Several strategies for improving the anti-HBV therapeutic efficacy of siRNAs, while avoiding their off-target effects and immunostimulation are discussed.
Abstract
Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is one of the leading causes of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Current treatment strategies of HBV infection including the use of interferon (IFN)-α and nucleotide analogues such as lamivudine and adefovir have met with only partial success. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more effective antiviral therapies that can clear HBV infection with fewer side effects. RNA interference (RNAi), by which a small interfering RNA (siRNA) induces the gene silence at a post-transcriptional level, has the potential of treating HBV infection. The successful use of chemically synthesized siRNA, endogenous expression of small hairpin RNA (shRNA) or microRNA (miRNA) to silence the target gene make this technology towards a potentially rational therapeutics for HBV infection. However, several challenges including poor siRNA stability, inefficient cellular uptake, widespread biodistribution and non-specific effects need to be overcome. In this review, we discuss several strategies for improving the anti-HBV therapeutic efficacy of siRNAs, while avoiding their off-target effects and immunostimulation. There is an in-depth discussion on the (1) mechanisms of RNAi, (2) methods for siRNA/shRNA production, (3) barriers to RNAi-based therapies, and (4) delivery strategies of siRNA for treating HBV infection.

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Journal ArticleDOI

Hepatocyte-targeted RNAi Therapeutics for the Treatment of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection

TL;DR: It is shown that a single coinjection of NAG-MLP with potent chol-siRNAs targeting conserved HBV sequences resulted in multilog repression of viral RNA, proteins, and viral DNA with long duration of effect.
Journal ArticleDOI

NF-κB signaling, liver disease and hepatoprotective agents

TL;DR: The NF-κB signaling pathway has particular relevance to several liver diseases including hepatitis, viral hepatitis induced by HBV and HCV, liver fibrosis and cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, and is a potential target for development of hepatoprotective agents.
Journal ArticleDOI

Present and future therapies of hepatitis B: From discovery to cure

TL;DR: The current state of science in HBV therapy is reviewed and new and exciting therapeutic strategies spurred by recent scientific advances are highlighted, bringing us closer to the possibility of a functional cure of chronic HBV infection.
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Nanoparticle-based delivery of small interfering RNA: challenges for cancer therapy.

TL;DR: The main aims of this review are to explain the siRNA mechanism with regard to potential applications in siRNA-based cancer therapy; to discuss the possible usefulness of nanoparticle-based delivery of certain molecules for overcoming present therapeutic limitations; to review the ongoing relevant clinical research with its pitfalls and promises; and to evaluate critically future perspectives and challenges in si RNA- based cancer therapy.
Journal ArticleDOI

Non-Viral Nucleic Acid Delivery: Key Challenges and Future Directions

TL;DR: This review discusses some of the strategies that have been employed to overcome the barriers towards successful gene delivery, including cellular barriers, enzymatic degradation and rapid clearance after administration.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Potent and specific genetic interference by double-stranded RNA in Caenorhabditis elegans

TL;DR: To their surprise, it was found that double-stranded RNA was substantially more effective at producing interference than was either strand individually, arguing against stochiometric interference with endogenous mRNA and suggesting that there could be a catalytic or amplification component in the interference process.
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Duplexes of 21-nucleotide RNAs mediate RNA interference in cultured mammalian cells

TL;DR: 21-nucleotide siRNA duplexes provide a new tool for studying gene function in mammalian cells and may eventually be used as gene-specific therapeutics.
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A System for Stable Expression of Short Interfering RNAs in Mammalian Cells

TL;DR: It is shown that siRNA expression mediated by this vector causes efficient and specific down-regulation of gene expression, resulting in functional inactivation of the targeted genes.
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How cells respond to interferons

TL;DR: The Janus kinases and signal transducers and activators of transcription, and many of the interferon-induced proteins, play important alternative roles in cells, raising interesting questions as to how the responses to the interFERons intersect with more general aspects of cellular physiology and how the specificity of cytokine responses is maintained.
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