Ambion said last week that it has launched two new siRNA libraries. The first targets 597 human kinases and the second targets 441 human G protein-coupled receptors.
According to the company, the kinase library includes one or more functionally validated siRNAs, which have been proven to effici- ently decrease levels of mRNA, targeting 231 kinases.
The siRNAs, Ambion added, were designed using an algorithm provided by partner Cenix BioScience.
Dharmacon said this week that it has launched its siStable siRNA, a proprietary form of siRNA modified to enhance stability, potency, and silencing longevity while decreasing toxicity.
According to the company, siStable siRNAs maintained full silencing potency after seven days in cell culture studies. In human serum, Dharmacon added, siStable siRNA half life is increased more than 500 fold over unmodified siRNA.
SiStable is available for in vitro cell culture applications. A version of the siRNA for in vivo animal applications is expected to be available in January, said Dharmacon.
The journal Oligonucleotides has released a special issue focusing entirely on RNA interference, according to the publishing company Mary Ann Liebert.
The issue includes articles on targeting CCR5 with siRNAs, strategies for generating siRNA libraries against the human genome, siRNA targeting Bcl-2, and tools for gene manipulation in chicken embryos, among others.
The issue is edited by John Rossi from the Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope and Fritz Eckstein of the Max-Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine.
The issue is freely available at www.liebertpub.com/oli.
System Biosciences said this week that it has launched its GeneNet Lentiviral siRNA Transduction System based on the feline immunodeficiency virus.
According to the company, the delivery and expression vectors can permanently inhibit the expression of any gene in almost any mammalian cell or organism. The vectors, System Biosciences added, can be combined with cells expressing FIV proteins to create a pseudoviral particle that can carry siRNA coding sequences into mammalian cells.
Once inside the cell, a portion of the vector sequence will immediately integrate into the genome so that the cell permanently expresses the siRNA molecule, the company said.