DNA repair investigations using siRNA.

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a revolutionary tool for the experimental modulation of gene expression, in many cases making redundant the need for specific gene mutations and allowing examination of the effect of modulating essential genes. It has now been shown that siRNA phenotypes resulting from stable transfection with short hairpin RNA (shRNA) can be transmitted through the mouse germ line and Rosenquist and his colleagues have used shRNA, which is processed in vivo to siRNA, to create germline transgenic mice in which a target DNA repair gene has been silenced. Here, Holly Miller and Arthur P. Grollman give the background of these discoveries, provide an overview of current uses, and look at future applications of this research.