Viruses and RNA interference in mammalian cells

expression, thereby reducing susceptibility to the adaptive immune response (Berkhout and
Haasnoot, 2006; van Rij and Andino, 2006)
Further directions of investigations
Advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of RNAi indicate that RNAi-based
therapies might soon provide a powerful new arsenal against viral diseases for which
treatment options are currently limited. Recent findings have highlighted both promise and
challenges in using RNAi for therapeutic applications. There are still a number of major
concerns and possible impediments to the widespread application of RNAi for the treatment
of human disease. For instance, chronic diseases such as hepatitis C virus or HIV infections
will require lifelong treatments with RNAi. So the further effetcs of RNAi, design and
delivery strategies for RNAi effector molecules must be carefully considered to address
safety concerns and to ensure effective, successful treatment of viral diseases. The coming
years are likely to see the detailed investigation of this process and an increasing range of
applications for RNAi-based treatments (Berkhout and Haasnoot,2006; Kim and Rossi,
2007).
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