# RNA

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/rna/  
OnCo record `rna` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

A working copy of a gene, made when the cell needs to use it. If DNA is the master library, RNA is the photocopy taken to the workshop.

## Summary

When a gene is switched on, the cell transcribes it into RNA; messenger RNA (mRNA) then travels out of the nucleus and is translated into protein. Measuring which RNAs a tumour makes (RNA sequencing) shows which genes are active, reveals gene fusions, and underlies tests like PAM50 and Oncotype DX. RNA is also a therapeutic tool: mRNA vaccines instruct the patient's cells to display tumour antigens, and antisense and siRNA drugs destroy the RNA of a target gene before it can be made into protein.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-09-09
- Also known as: messenger RNA; mRNA; transcript; transcripts; transcription

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA

## Connected records

- terms: [DNA](https://onco.cc/terms/dna-term/), [Gene](https://onco.cc/terms/gene/), [Gene expression](https://onco.cc/terms/gene-expression/), [Protein](https://onco.cc/terms/protein/)
- technologies: [Oligonucleotide therapeutics](https://onco.cc/technologies/antisense-sirna/), [Personalised neoantigen (mRNA) vaccines](https://onco.cc/technologies/neoantigen-mrna-vaccine/), [RNA sequencing & expression profiling](https://onco.cc/technologies/rna-seq/)

---
JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/rna.json