COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR SPECIFIC INHIBITION OF GENE EXPRESSION BY DSRNA HAVING MODIFICATIONS

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide compositions and methods useful for reducing expression or activity of a specified gene in eukaryotic cells.SOLUTION: The invention provides a method for reducing expression of a target gene in a cell comprising a step of contacting the cell with an isolated double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in an amount effective for reducing expression of the target gene in the cell, where the dsRNA comprises i) a first strand and ii) a second strand, the first strand is 19-80 nucleotides in length; the second strand is 19-35 nucleotides in length; the first and second strands form a duplex of 15-35 base pairs; the first strand comprises a tetraloop flanking the duplex; and the dsRNA has a discontinuity between an end of the first strand and an end of the second strand.