RNAi protects living animals against disease

10:32 10 February 03 NewScientist.com news service

For the first time, biologists have published a report showing how harnessing an ancient immune system in mammalian cells can protect living animals against disease.

The team used a technology known as RNA interference (RNAi) to halt hepatitis in mice. The result's are "pretty amazing, considering this represents our first attempt," says Judy Lieberman at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "We haven't optimised it at all."

If the technique works in humans, it represents a new treatment strategy for a huge variety of diseases and infections.

RNAi involves stimulating an attack on the messenger RNA that a gene sends to a cell's protein factory. This is achieved by designing tiny RNA molecules that match a sequence in the target gene.

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