Lots of new research is being done using miRNA and siRNA, as small molecule treatments for various diseases. As a result, these small RNA pieces have become very popular topics in biotech, but for those of you who aren't all that familiar with the nucleic acids, there are three major types of RNA within cells. The micro/si RNAs come from one of them, called messenger RNA (mRNA). Here's the lowdown on the three types of larger RNA particles:

• mRNA - are the direct product of transcription from DNA. Resulting mRNA sequences contain the codes, and are the template, for production of proteins in our cells. 
• rRNA - Ribosomal RNA come in various sizes that, combined, form complexes that promote translation of mRNA sequences to make proteins.
• tRNA - Transfer RNA are small hairpin-shaped particles that carry around an amino acid at one end and have the anti-codon to an mRNA codon, at the other end. Individual tRNA bind to mRNA one at a time along the strand and, with the help of rRNA, 'transfer' their amino acid to the growing peptide chain.

The Difference Between miRNA and siRNA

What are Transcription Factors?

Purifying Proteins

The BCL6 protein is a transcription factor known to be active in many different kinds of cancer, one of which is drug-resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL is the most common form of cancer among children. Many children survive ALL, but a subset suffer from drug-resistance, the cause of which was, until now, a mystery. This week, however, a research team in California (Children's Hospital Los Angeles and University of California San Francisco) published work that shows the investigational drug RI-BPI, when administered along with the traditional treatment for ALL, Gleevec, can shut down ALL by inhibiting BCL6.

BCL6 is a repressor protein, the activity of which depends on recruiting other repressor proteins to a binding site on its N-terminus. RI-BPI, which stands for retroinverso BCL6 peptide inhibitor, works by selectively blocking this binding site. The disease had previously "baffled" doctors who didn't understand how it was sometimes treatable and sometimes not. Thus, this discovery is considered a breakthrough for patients with ALL, and may also have benefits to those with other types of cancer.

_Sources:

_{Cherchietti, C. et al. 2009. A peptomimetic inhibitor of BCL6 with potent antilymphoma effect in vitro and in vivo. Blood 113(15):3397-405. Epub 2008 Oct 16.}

_{Cihangir, D. et al. 2011. BCL6 enables Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cells to survive BCR-ABL1 kinase inhibition. Nature 473:384-388. doi:10.1038/nature09883.}

Oncogenes and Cancer

Protein Purification Methods

Small Molecules siRNA and miRNA

Nanosphere Inc. is a nanotechnology-based developer of diagnostic systems, including molecular systems, for detecting disease. Their discovery program has resulted in the identification of a number of cancer biomarkers that are only detectable using their ultra-sensitive, high-throughput protein assays. The protein biomarkers detect bladder, prostate and kidney cancers. Nanosphere will present their research, using the Verisens(TM) assay for detection of the proteins, at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting next week.

High-Throughput Arrays

Purifying Proteins

What is Proteomics?

Just last month (April 24th) I wrote a blog about Harvard Bioscience Inc. and their specialized bioreactor and protocol for making hollow organs to transplant into humans. Last Friday, President David Green reported that the "strong track record for growth and profitability" of the company had been recognized by the Boston Globe, which named Harvard Bioscience the #1 biotech company in the Massachusetts area. Harvard Bioscience has been in business since 1901, surviving the Great Recession, and continues today as a powerful force in life sciences research. The company is affiliated with Harvard Medical School and provides regenerative medicine devices to hospitals that allow surgeons to perform cutting-edge procedures.

The Boston Globe's annual survey of the best-performing public companies in Massachusetts, called the Boston Globe 100, will be published this Sunday (May 22, 2011) at which time it can also be found online at http://www.boston.com:80/business/globe/globe100/

What is a Clone?

Tissue Engineering Basics

Why All the Excitement About Stem Cells?