Small Interfering Rna Technology In Pancreatic Ductal Epithelial Cells: Future Cancer Therapy

摘要

Firstly, we have to thank the Nobel Prize winners of Physiology or Medicine 2006, Drs. Andrew Fire at Stanford University and Craig Mello at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, for their pioneering work in RNA interference (RNAi). Without their discovery, we may not have been able to understand the role of RNAs in regulating gene expression today. RNAi is a process that is initiated by the introduction of RNA into a cell and ends with the degradation of complementary messenger RNA, thus stopping or otherwise affecting gene expression. In this review, we will describe the mechanisms involved in the processing of the RNA and how gene expression can be regulated. Since its discovery, RNAi has been widely studied and therapeutic investigations are ongoing. It is becoming increasingly apparent that RNAi has potential for cancer treatment in the future. This review focuses on the evolving development of the RNAi technique in plants, worms, fruit flies, and mammalian cells and particular attention is paid to the use of the technique in pancreatic epithelial cells. Here, we describe the sources of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and the basic mechanisms involved in their inhibition of gene expression. Furthermore, we discuss some of the challenges surrounding the use of RNAi in mammalian cells and the delivery techniques currently being used. This review also illustrates some of the important oncogenes, including Kirsten rat sarcoma (K-RAS), epidermal growth factor receptor, and bcl-2, and their signaling pathways commonly found in pancreatic adenocarcinoma mainly derived from ductal epithelial cells, and how usage of the RNAi technique against these oncogenes could alter cancer phenotypes in pancreatic cancer. Finally, therapies that can be directed to the development of cancer to either treat or prevent these cancers, potential new strategies, and the current development of RNAi-based therapies for use in cancer patients will also be discussed.