Over the last few years, RNA Interference (RNAi), a naturally occurring mechanism of gene regulation conserved in plant and mammalian cells, has opened numerous novel opportunities for basic research across the field of biology. While RNAi has helped accelerate discovery and understanding of gene functions, it also has great potential as a therapeutic and potentially prophylactic modality. Challenging diseases failing conventional therapeutics could become treatable by specific silencing of key pathogenic genes. More specifically, therapeutic targets previously deemed "undruggable" by small molecules, are now coming within reach of RNAi based therapy. For RNAi to be effective and elicit gene silencing response, the double-stranded RNA molecules must be delivered to the target cell. Unfortunately, delivery of these RNA duplexes has been challenging, halting rapid development of RNAi-based therapies. In this review we present current advancements in the field of siRNA delivery methods, including the pros and cons of each method.

We report that human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) has evolved a self-perpetuating mechanism to actively generate cells permissive for productive and cytopathic infection. Only activated T cells can be productively infected, which leads to their rapid depletion (2 ؋ 10 9 ͞day in an infected individual). Establishment of productive HIV-1 infection therefore requires continual activations from the large pool of quiescent T cells. Tat protein, which is secreted by infected cells, activated uninfected quiescent T cells in vitro and in vivo. These Tat-activated uninfected cells became highly permissive for productive HIV-1 infection. Activation of primary T cells by Tat protein involved integrin receptors and was associated with activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, including ERK1 and JNK kinase. Accordingly, these primary T cells progressed from G 0 to the late G 1 phase of the cell cycle.

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