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. 2022 Apr 19;54(4):455–465. doi: 10.1038/s12276-022-00757-5

Fig. 4. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) drugs.

Fig. 4

a Mechanism of action of siRNA drugs in mammalian cells. siRNAs interact with the Argonaute (AGO) protein to produce a binding complex that recognizes its target mRNA and then induces its sequence-specific cleavage in a process called RNA interference (RNAi). b Patisiran binds to the 3ʹ untranslated region (UTR) of transthyretin (TTR) mRNA. Because mutation occurs within the coding region of this gene, patisiran suppresses the expression of both wild-type and mutant TTR mRNAs. c Givosiran suppresses the expression of aminolevulinic acid (ALA) synthase 1 (ALAS1) mRNA. This results in a reduction in ALAS1 protein, which is required for the production of ALA and porphobilinogen (PBG). Notably, givosiran contains the N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) conjugate within the 3ʹ end of its passenger strand. d Inclisiran induces the cleavage of the mRNA encoding proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9), a promising target for the therapeutic management of patients with high cholesterol. Reductions in PCSK9 protein result in reduced endocytosis of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors.