How is antisense gene therapy different from RNA interference?
The intended effect of both RNA interference (RNAi) and antisense gene therapy is the same, but their mechanisms are slightly different. Like antisense therapy, RNAi is a gene silencing technique that inhibits the actions of genes by interfering with the translation of proteins. However, antisense technology destroys target mRNA by recruiting the enzyme RNase H, while RNAi recruits a different RNase enzyme known as dicer. In addition, RNAi molecules are twice as large as antisense oligonucleotides (because they are double stranded rather than single stranded). Their larger size makes it more difficult for them to get into the body’s cells where they can have a beneficial effect. For more information on RNAi, please click: here.
