Off-target effects: Disturbing the silence of RNA interference

Off-target effects occur when an siRNA is processed by the RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC) and down-regulates unintended targets. As these changes in gene expression can lead to measurable phenotypes (such as false positives) it is of great importance to understand the mechanism behind off-targeting so that strategies can be developed to minimize their effects. Horizon Discovery has discovered that bioinformatics, novel chemical modifications, and siRNA pooling significantly decrease off-target effects. These three strategies are incorporated into the Dharmacon™ ON-TARGETplus™ and SMARTpool™ siRNA reagents.