RNA interference (RNAi) offers great promise in life science research and therapeutic development, as it easily achieves a potent target gene knockdown with high specificity. Since the conventional small interfering RNA (siRNA) structure, known as 19 bp double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) with 2-nucleotide (nt) 3' overhang, has been introduced to successfully elicit the RNAi in mammalian cells, a variety of structural variants of RNAi trigger have been developed. Our group previously reported branched, tripodal interfering RNA (tiRNA) structures as a multigene targeting RNA structure inducing RNAi. However, the immune stimulatory effect of branched tiRNA structure has not been thoroughly evaluated. In this study, we show that tiRNA with blunt ends triggers innate immune response in T98G cell and mouse macrophage cells, which is dependent upon the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I), a well-known cytoplasmic dsRNA sensor. Interestingly, immune response triggered by tiRNA can be suppressed by the introduction of 2-nt 3' overhang structure. Our finding expands the structural diversity of RIG-I ligands and provides a guide to develop a safe multitargeting RNA structure for therapeutic application.
Keywords: 3′ overhang; RIG-I; RNA interference; innate immune response; tripodal RNA.