Elimination of Off-Target Effect by Chemical Modification of 5'-End of siRNA: 5′-modified siRNA

Yasuo Shiohama, Ryosuke Fujita, Maika Sonokawa, Masaaki Hisano, Yojiro Kotake, Marija Krstic-Demonacos, Constantinos Demonacos, Gengo Kashiwazaki, Masayuki Fujii

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In this study, the efficiency of RNA interference of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) bearing 5'-O-methyl-2'-deoxythymidine (X) and 5'-amino-2', 5'-dideoxythymidine (Z) at the 5'-end of the sense strand and the antisense strand of siRNA was investigated in HeLa cells stably expressing enhanced green fluorescent protein. The results indicated that when one strand of siRNA was modified with X or Z and the other was unmodified, the X or Z modification was predominant in the process of strand selection and the unmodified strand was selected as a guide strand. When both strands are modified with X or Z, the modified antisense strand with X or Z will be selected as a guide strand with a certain probability. The resulting mature RNA-induced silencing complex exerted reduced, but still moderate silencing activity remained. These results suggest that the modification of the sense strand with X or Z eliminates the off-target effects caused by the sense strand without affecting the silencing efficiency of the siRNA.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)438-447
Number of pages10
JournalNucleic Acid Therapeutics
Volume32
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 11 Apr 2022

Keywords

  • 5'-modified siRNA,
  • RNA, Small Interfering/genetics
  • HeLa Cells
  • RNA Interference
  • RNA, Double-Stranded
  • RNA-Induced Silencing Complex/metabolism
  • Thymidine

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