Ribonucleic acid interference for neurological disorders: candidate diseases, potential targets, and current approaches

Abstract

Objective: Ribonucleic acid (RNA) interference (RNAi) is a conserved evolutionary defense mechanism that is gaining utility for therapeutic application by modulating gene expression or silencing disease-causing genes.

Methods: This strategy has recently achieved success in mammalian cells via synthetic small interfering RNA or short hairpin RNA expressed in vectors for gene delivery. The vector-based RNAi strategy has particular potential because of the possibility of targeted gene delivery, long-term gene expression, and the potential means of penetrating the blood-brain barrier.

Results: RNAi-based approaches have been proposed for a variety of neurological disorders, including dominant genetic diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, malignant brain tumors, pain, and viral-induced encephalopathies.

Conclusion: This review summarizes the current approaches of the RNAi strategy for neurological disorders, focusing on potential targets for therapeutic intervention.