How Drosha and Dicer work in RNA interference - Video Transcript

M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Newsroom
News Release: Weakened RNA Interference Reduces Survival in Ovarian Cancer
Date: December 17, 2008
Duration: 0 / 01:37

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Anil Sood, M.D.:

In RNA interference there are at least two specific pathways that are responsible for shutting off genes.

One of these involves use of the enzymes call Dicer which cleaves these longer fragments of RNA which results in short fragments called siRNA which stands for short interfering RNA.

Then these fragments go on to split into single strands and they bind to complex called RNA Induced Silencing Complex or RISC. Then these fragments guild the RISC complex to a specific gene to which this siRNA binds to and result in the cleavage or shutting off of that gene.

There is a second pathway in which a longer fragment of RNA inside the nucleus is processed by an enzyme called Drosha after that processing this particular fragment of RNA called miRNA is brought out into the cytoplasm of the cell where again it goes through the enzyme called Dicer and results in inhibition of protein formation from miRNA so this is a separate pathway.

In the study we are discussing today we looked at alterations in both enzymes called Dicer as well as the enzyme Drosha which is present inside the nucleus.

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Videographer/video editor: Deborah E. Thomas
Producer: Scott Merville