Table II.
Definition of RNA structures and siRNA activity within each group
| Structured mRNA | Structured Guide Strand | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure Type | Location of Unpaired Nucleotides | # of siRNAs | Average Gene Expression Level | # of siRNAs | Average Gene Expression Level | ||||
| Complete Data | No Reynolds | Complete Data | No Reynolds | Complete Data | No Reynolds | Complete Data | No Reynolds | ||
| 5' | 1–5 | 121 | 84 | 39.4 | 44.8 | 233 | 159 | 39.4 | 44.7 |
| Central | 7–13 | 98 | 60 | 47.2 | 51.7 | 119 | 70 | 48.1 | 52.8 |
| 3' | 15–19 | 123 | 85 | 40.3 | 42.9 | 241 | 170 | 44.0 | 49.6 |
| Stem | None | 144 | 98 | 48.4 | 55.5 | 9 | 5 | 52.5 | 68.5 |
| Other | 3–9 or 11–17 | 88 | 53 | 41.6 | 50.8 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Target structures were defined when 4 or more consecutive unpaired nucleotides were present in the specified regions. Nucleotide positions are relative to the 5’-end of the target mRNA. See Figure 1 for illustration. N/A, not applicable.