Gene silencing

o Interruption or suppression of the expression of a gene at transcriptional or translational levels.

o A technique that aims to reduce or eliminate the production of a protein from its
corresponding gene. 
o Gene silencing occurs when RNA is unable to make a protein during translation.
o Gene silencing is often considered the same as gene knockdown. When genes are silenced, their
expression is reduced. In contrast, when genes are knocked out, they are completely erased from
the organism's genome and, thus, have no expression.

How does it works?

1. This is accomplished by binding of a

specific strand of RNA to an existing
m-RNA strand.
2. The m-RNA creates a copy of DNA
strand.
3. By binding the RNA to the m-RNA,
m-RNA is prevented from the
replicating that portion of the DNA.
4. Specific gene can be targeted and
prevented from replicating in to new
DNA strands.

Types;

1. Transcriptional Gene Silencing - the result of histone modifications, creating an

environment of heterochromatin around a gene that makes it inaccessible to
transcriptional machinery (RNA polymerase, transcription factors, etc.).

2. Post-transcriptional Gene Silencing- the result of mRNA of a particular gene being

destroyed or blocked. The destruction of the mRNA prevents translation to form an
active gene product in most cases, a protein.

Gene silencing methods used in research:

Antisense Oligonucleotides
o Oligonucleotides are short nucleic acid fragments, bind to complementary target
mRNA molecules. Can be composed of single-stranded DNA or RNA and are
generally 13–25 nucleotides long.
 o When added to the cell oligonucleotides causes the target mRNA molecules to be
degraded, while steric-blocker oligonucleotides prevent translation of the mRNA
molecule.

Ribozymes

o Are catalytic RNA molecules used to inhibit gene expression.

o These catalytic RNA molecules bind to a specific site and
work by cleaving mRNA molecules, essentially silencing the
genes that produced them.

RNA interference (RNAi)

o A biological response where small pieces of

RNA: Small interfering (siRNA) & MicroRNA
(miRNA) shut down protein translation by
binding to the messenger RNAs that code for
those proteins.

Applications of gene silencing

o In the medical field, the gene silencing technique is used to study genes associated with cancer,
infectious disorders and other genetic disorders.
o RNA interference has been used to silence the overexpression of some genes which causes
cancer.
 o Used in plant genetics for creating genetically modified organisms or plants that are economically
important. 
o Used in treating infectious diseases like HIV.
o Scientists are now applying the gene silencing method to treat diseases like asthma, cystic
fibrosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, chronic myeloid
leukemia and neurodegenerative disorders. 

Resources:
o https://www.slideshare.net/tailorparvez/gene-silencing-56053684
o https://hopes.stanford.edu/gene-silencing/#:~:text=Two%20of%20the%20leading%20and,and
%20antisense%20oligonucleotides%20(ASOs).&text=In%20RNAi%2C%20the%20molecules
%20that,%2Dinterfering%20RNAs%20(siRNAs).
o https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_silencing
o https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/what-is-rnai/