Two ready-to-use microRNA (miRNA) assay technologies are being introduced by Qiagen this month to simplify and standardize gene-regulation research.
The two new products - miScript miRNA Mimics and miScript miRNA Inhibitors - are ready-to-transfect for use in gene regulation and cellular pathway analysis.
By directing a protein complex to bind to specific messenger RNA (mRNA), miRNAs act to fine-tune cellular gene expression.
Research has shown that aberrant expression of several miRNAs is associated with severe diseases such as cancer and heart disease.
Qiagen has now developed standardized tools and ready-to-use technologies that simplify the analysis of miRNA function and which can be customized to researchers' individual requirements.
miScript miRNA Mimics are synthetic RNA oligonucleotides that function like mature endogenous miRNA molecules when transfected in to mammalian cells.
These can be used to artificially up regulate the level of any miRNA in a cell.
In contrast, miScript miRNA Inhibitors which are synthetic chemically modified RNA oligonucleotides inhibit endogenously expressed miRNAs.
miRNA Inhibitors effectively lower the endogenous levels of miRNA in cells enabling loss-of-function studies.
miScript miRNA Mimics and miScript miRNA inhibitors are available from single tubes to 96- or 384-well plates, and in different scales: 1 and 5 nmol for in-vitro use and 20 nmol for animal studies.
