Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) is a sequence of RNA that makes a tight hairpin turn and can be used to silence target gene expression via RNA interference (RNAi). shRNA molecules are typically transcribed within cells from DNA vectors and processed into short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) by the cellular machinery. These siRNAs then guide the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) to degrade complementary mRNA, effectively silencing the target gene.
