El futuro en la infección por VIH: terapia génica y ARN de interferencia

The description of the mechanism of RNA interference (RNAi) has generated an enormous interest in the biomedical field. A previously unrecognized pathway in which small interfering 21 to 23 mer double-stranded RNA (siRNA) mediates sequence-specific degradation of mRNA is becoming one the most useful techniques in cell biology and genetics research. Based in the potency, specificity and physiology of RNAi to silence gene expression there are great expectations on its use as a therapeutic tool. The first evidences of RNAi as suppressor of HIV replication have already been communicated and this has again stimulated the development of molecular or gene therapy approaches to HIV infection.