Small Activating RNAs: Delivery and Therapeutic Applications in Disease Treatment

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Over time, RNA oligonucleotides have emerged as critical tools in the field of drug discovery, offering potential therapeutic strategies for various diseases that are considered undruggable by conventional methods. Small activating RNAs (saRNAs) are a distinct subset of artificially designed short RNA duplexes (dsRNAs) that function as regulatory molecules which mediate the upregulation of endogenous gene expression by targeting specific sequences within gene promoters, acting at both the transcriptional and epigenetic levels. This process, termed RNA activation, is a conserved mechanism observed across a broad spectrum of eukaryotes, from small invertebrates like nematodes to humans. Effective in vivo delivery of saRNAs is achieved using various delivery systems, including lipid nanoparticles, aptamers, dendrimers, and lipopolyplexes, enabling the guide strand to direct AGO2 to the nucleus and activate transcription. This represents a promising therapeutic strategy for cancer and other diseases. This paper reviews current literature on saRNA biology, focusing on its characteristics, mechanisms of action, challenges, and role in upregulating transcription, while exploring its therapeutic potential and future applications in disease treatment.