美國(guó)國(guó)家環(huán)境衛(wèi)生研究中心（NIEHS, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences）正在進(jìn)行一項(xiàng)為期三年,、投資達(dá)300萬(wàn)美元的研究項(xiàng)目,，這項(xiàng)研究旨在確定特定基因促進(jìn)與環(huán)境相關(guān)的疾病發(fā)展的機(jī)制。NIEHS將會(huì)構(gòu)建一個(gè)新的RNAi文庫(kù),，用于幫助戰(zhàn)勝疾病。
RNAi技術(shù)能夠關(guān)閉特定的基因,，因此使得研究人員能夠進(jìn)一步了解有關(guān)基因影響細(xì)胞的過(guò)程,。知道了一個(gè)基因如何對(duì)一種壓力做出反應(yīng)，就能夠使研究人員從中獲得更多的有關(guān)化合物和毒素如何影響人類健康的信息,。這項(xiàng)技術(shù)使我們有了一個(gè)了解環(huán)境反應(yīng)基因的強(qiáng)大的工具箱,。
NIEHS的這項(xiàng)研究與其它研究的不同之處在于它將集中研究與環(huán)境健康和毒理學(xué)有關(guān)的基因。研究人員將能夠更快速地確定基因功能并知道對(duì)藥物,、化合物和其它環(huán)境壓力因子產(chǎn)生相反作用基因。RNAi技術(shù)是一種快速且強(qiáng)大的比傳統(tǒng),、耗時(shí)的方法更有效地完成這個(gè)研究目標(biāo)（找出疾病途徑）的工具,。
長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，研究人員一直在尋找能夠關(guān)閉一種基因?qū)?xì)胞影響的方法,。通過(guò)從細(xì)胞程序中移除一個(gè)遺傳步驟并觀察產(chǎn)生的后果,，研究人員能深入了解對(duì)壓力作出反應(yīng)的重要的細(xì)胞反應(yīng)并最終促進(jìn)公共健康水平的提高。
建立的RNAi庫(kù)將對(duì)Toxicogenomics國(guó)家研究中心的研究機(jī)構(gòu)開(kāi)發(fā),。而且,，這些資料也將成為NIEHS的科學(xué)資源的一個(gè)部分。通過(guò)資源共享,，這項(xiàng)研究將使整個(gè)科學(xué)界從中受益,。
原文：
NIEHS to Develop New RNAi Library to Help Fight Disease
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is undertaking a $3 million, three-year effort to see how specific genes might contribute to environmentally-related disease. NIEHS will develop a new RNAi library to help fight disease through its National Center for Toxicogenomics. RNAi, or RNA interference, is a new technology which silences specific genes.
RNAi technology "turns off" specific genes so scientists can learn more about how the genes influence the cell. Knowing how a gene responds to a stress allows scientists to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how chemicals and toxins can undermine our health.
"This new technology gives us a stronger tool box for understanding the environmental response genes," said Dr. Kenneth Olden, NIEHS Director. "By focusing on the environmental response genes, we're building a library of RNAi molecules that'll help us fight diseases."
The NIEHS project differs from what others are doing by focusing on genes related to environmental health and toxicology. Researchers will be able to more rapidly determine gene function and see which genes are responsible for adverse responses to drugs, chemicals, or other environmental stressors.
"It's a rapid and powerful new tool to augment more traditional and time-consuming methods to accomplish our goal of verifying disease pathways,"Olden added. "We're very pleased to carry out this important work that will benefit the entire scientific community by making the information available to the public."
"For a long time, scientists have looked for methods that turn off a gene's influence on the cell which helps us understand the specific gene function," said Olden. "By removing a genetic step from a cellular program and seeing what happens, we gain insight into important cellular responses to stress and ultimately to public health issues like the effects of exposures to environmental toxicants."
The library will be a resource available to the scientific community administered by the National Center for Toxicogenomics. The data will become part of scientific resources offered by NIEHS to the public.
A North Carolina-based biotechnology company, Icoria, will carry out the three-year contract, which is the first phase of the NIEHS RNAi initiative.
Part of the National Institutes of Health, NIEHS researches the effects of the environment on human health.
