Figure 7.

Nascent RNA silencing targets disease-associated genes. (A) Contingency table summarizing disease association of target and non-target genes (P < 2.2e–16; Fisher's exact test). (B) Bar chart showing the fold change of steady-state EGFR transcripts, measured by qRT-PCR, upon transfection of synthetic tsRNA and siRNA against EGFR, with BCL2 as negative control. (C) Western blot image showing signals of EGFR upon transfection of synthetic tsRNA and siRNA against EGFR, with ß-tubulin as loading control. (D) Model summarizing nuclear RNA silencing. Dicer recognizes transcribed tRNA and processes it into functional tsRNA. This is loaded onto Ago2 and translocated into nucleus where they target nascent RNA for degradation through Ago2 cleavage activity.