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Griffin:siRNA transfection: Difference between revisions
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siRNA dependent | [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA_interference RNA interference] is an epigenetic system within living cells that modulates which genes are active and how active they are. | ||
The native RNAi pathway involves a grooming process where long double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules are refined into double stranded RNA of ~20 nucleotides. The ~20 nucleotide double strand RNA is now a conventional research product known as siRNA. The ~20 nucleotide siRNA inside a cell is catalytic unwound and one of the two strands, known as the guide strand or antisense strand, is then loaded into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). Experimentally, any mRNA that shares the sense compliment sequence to the 'loaded' RISC complex, will bind and undergo nuclease-dependent degradation. As mRNA levels go down, so can protein expression. This is an attractive technique for scientists who are seeking to better understand the importance of the target gene function by 'knocking down' the function in a cell system. | |||
siRNA-dependent RNAi is a user friendly technique that allows the scientist to titrate moles siRNA/ number of cells, with a minimum number of steps toward achieving mRNA knockdown. | |||
==siRNA calculations== | ==siRNA calculations== | ||
