Non-viral gene therapy based on silencing with small interfering RNA (siRNA) has attracted great interest over recent years. Among various types of cationic complexation agents, amino acid-based surfactants have been recently explored for nucleic acid delivery due to their low toxicity and high biocompatibility. Monoolein (MO), in turn, used as helper lipid liposomal systems its ability form in...

The use of photoremovable protecting groups in biology affords the end user high temporal, spatial, and concentration control of reagents and substrates. High content screening and other large-scale biology applications would benefit greatly from these advantages. Herein, we report progress in this field by highlighting the recent development of controllable siRNA (csiRNA), which is a dormant s...

Background: OCT4B1, a variant of OCT4, is expressed in both cancer cells and tissues. This variant has a main role in the regulation of both apoptotic and stress (heat-shock proteins) pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of OCT4B1 silencing on the expression of small heat-shock proteins (sHSPs)in three human tumor cell lines. Methods:...

Multidrug resistance (MDR) is a complex phenomenon in which many different genes regulating drug transport, cellular repair, detoxification and drug metabolism are involved. Nevertheless, in most drug resistant cell lines and cancer patients up-regulation of ABC-transporter genes such as MDR associated Protein (MRP1) gene could be at the basis of the drug resistance phenotype. We aimed to decre...

MicroRNA (miRNA)-guided cleavage initiates entry of primary transcripts into the transacting siRNA (tasiRNA) biogenesis pathway involving RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE6, DICER-LIKE4, and SUPPRESSOR OF GENE SILENCING3. Arabidopsis thaliana TAS1 and TAS2 families yield tasiRNA that form through miR173-guided initiation-cleavage of primary transcripts and target several transcripts encoding pentatr...

Transacting siRNA (tasiRNA) biogenesis in Arabidopsis is initiated by microRNA (miRNA) -guided cleavage of primary transcripts. In the case of TAS3 tasiRNA formation, ARGONAUTE7 (AGO7)-miR390 complexes interact with primary transcripts at two sites, resulting in recruitment of RNA-DEPENDENT RNA POLYMERASE6 for dsRNA biosynthesis. An extensive screen for Arabidopsis mutants with specific defects...

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are suggested as the most dominant causes of recurrence due to their permanent self-renewal and resistance to common cancer treatment in glioblastoma multiform (GBM) which is recognized as the most malignant of brain tumor. It has been indicated that Retinoblastoma-binding protein 5 (RBBP5), a main part of Mixed lineage leukemia protein-1 (MLL1), plays a significant rol...