Main description:

Non-coding, inhibitory microRNAs have emerged as important modulators of cellular gene expression, through a process called RNA interference (RNAi). To date, hundreds of conserved and species-specific microRNAs have been identified in organisms ranging from single-celled algae to humans. Many of these tiny RNAs are now known to play fundamental roles in developmental biology and disease pathogenesis. In addition, RNAi has emerged as a technology useful for manipulating gene expression. In RNA Interference Techniques, expert researchers present detailed methods for designing and delivering artificial inhibitory RNAs to neural tissue and for detecting or cloning endogenous microRNAs, all in order to aid investigators' attempts to ask basic biological questions or develop therapeutics for dominant neurogenetic disorders, cancer, or viral infection. As a volume in the successful Neuromethods series, the chapters provide authoritative accounts of the most commonly used approaches in the field today.

Cutting-edge and concise, RNA Interference Techniques promises to support the vital research in the field of RNAi and miRNAs, ever-continuing to grow rapidly and gain increasing importance in basic and translational biology.

Contents:

1. Designing Hairpin-Based RNAi Shuttles

Yu Shen

2. Rapid Cloning and Validation of MicroRNA Shuttle Vectors: A Practical Guide

Ryan L. Boudreau, Sara E. Garwick-Coppens, Jian Liu, Lindsay M. Wallace, and Scott Q. Harper

3. The Use of Small Non-Coding RNAs to Silence Transcription in Human Cells

Kevin V. Morris

4. Delivery Strategies for RNAi to the Nervous System

Kevin D. Foust and Brian K. Kaspar

5. Cloning Small RNAs

Eric J. Devor and Lingyan Huang

6. Profiling the miRNome: Detecting Global miRNA Expression Levels with DNA Microarrays

Peter White

7. High Throughput Profiling of Mature MicroRNA by Real-Time PCR

Jinmai Jiang, Eun Joo Lee, Melissa Piper Hunter, Clay B. Marsh, and Thomas D. Schmittgen

8. In Situ Detection of MicroRNAs in Paraffin Embedded, Formalin Fixed Tissues: Different Methodologies and Co-Localization with Possible Targets

Gerard J. Nuovo, Patrick Nana-Sinkam, Melissa Crawford, and Thomas D. Schmittgen

9. Tracing of siRNAs Inside Cells by FRET Imaging

Markus Hirsch, Il-Han Kim, Anne Jarve, Roger Fischer, Michael F. Trendelenburg, Ulrich Massing, Karl Rohr, and Mark Helm

10. Application of RIP-Chip for the Identification of miRNA Targets

Lu Ping Tan, Anke van den Berg, and Joost L. Kluiver