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RNAi: a novel strategy for the treatment of prion diseases
Qingzhong Kong
Qingzhong Kong
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Commentary

RNAi: a novel strategy for the treatment of prion diseases

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Abstract

Prion disease refers to a group of fatal transmissible neurodegenerative diseases for which no pharmacological treatment is available. The cellular prion protein (PrPC) is required for both prion replication and pathogenesis, and reducing PrPC levels has been shown to extend survival time after prion infection. RNA interference (RNAi) is a sequence-specific posttranscriptional gene silencing mechanism. In this issue of the JCI, Pfeifer et al. report that lentivector-mediated RNAi significantly reduced neuronal PrPC expression; effectively suppressed accumulation of the infectious protease-resistant form of PrP (PrPSc) in a persistently infected neuroblastoma cell line; and markedly slowed the progression of prion disease in a unique chimeric mouse model (see the related article beginning on page 3204). These findings indicate that lentivector-mediated RNAi could, in principle, be developed for the therapy of prion disease.

Authors

Qingzhong Kong

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Usage data is cumulative from August 2025 through August 2026.

Usage JCI PMC
Text version 716 123
PDF 173 8
Figure 162 2
Citation downloads 225 0
Totals 1,276 133
Total Views 1,409

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