RNA干扰技术(RNA interference,RNAi)通过向细胞内引入双链RNA介导同源靶向mRNA特异性降解,最终导致转录后水平的基因沉默。RNAi现象是由Andrew Fire和Craig Mello两位科学家于1998年在新杆状线虫中发现的,两人也因此于2006年荣获了诺贝尔生理医学奖。RNAi自从被发现以来,引起了科学界的广泛重视,相关研究得到迅速发展,目前RNAi已经在基因功能研究和基因治疗研究等领域成为最具有潜力的技术之一。
RNA interference has emerged as one of the most promising gene silencing techniques in gene function and gene therapy researches. However, the in-vivo application of small interference RNA (siRNA) requires an effective noninvasive method to evaluate its delivery in vivo. Nuclear imaging, luciferase imaging and bioluminescence imaging have potential values in this area. Applied widely in clinic and research, nuclear imaging has the advantages of noninvasiveness, high sensitivity and good safety, and it can be used in the large animal, even the human body. Moreover, nuclear imaging provides the information of biodistribution and semi-quantitative or quantitative evaluation in gene interference. The recent progress in in-vivo application basis, protection, radiolabeling methods, biodistribution, and nuclear imaging of siRNA is reviewed here, in order to help the development of siRNA based imaging and therapy researches.