SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a double-stranded RNA that could impose post-transcriptional silencing of specific mRNA with an overlapping sequence. siRNA could serve as a potential tool for its temporary sequence-specific silencing, such as improving the efficiency of mRNA vaccines. This research aims to identify siRNAs that could upregulate or downregulate the overall translation efficiency by targeting the cellular translation machinery. Four siRNAs are selected to target genes in the translation machinery: eEF2K (eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2 kinase), eEF2 (eukaryotic translation elongation factor 2), eIF2αK4 (eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 4), and eIF2α (eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha). These siRNAs are expected to regulate the overall translation efficiency without high cytotoxicity. To examine the hypothesis, the efficiency of siRNAs was tested by co-transfection of eGFP reporter mRNA and siRNAs, which was measured by flow cytometry and high-content screening. si-eIF2αK4 is found to downregulate translation and preserve a live rate the same as control group while the other three siRNAs inhibit translation partly by eliciting cell death. However, further research is needed to confirm the off-target effects and alternative methods are required to confirm the results.