MicroRNA Protocols / Edition 1

It is now known that microRNA (miRNA), once thought to be junk, can suppress the expression of other genes and may be involved in numerous cellular processes, including cell proliferation, apoptosis, cell differentiation, and development. In MicroRNA Prools, expert miRNA researchers explain its basic concepts and introduce the most advanced technologies and techniques for predicting screening, isolating, and assaying it. The authors provide diverse, novel, and useful descriptions of miRNAs in several species-including plants, worms, flies, fish, chicks, mice, and humans-and show how they have been employed to develop miRNA as a potential drug design tool. Highlights include miRNA and their target prediction by computer analysis, functional assays of miRNA in vitro and in vivo, and transgenic animal models using miRNA technologies. Additional chapters cover gene regulation, small RNA function, RNA interference mechanisms, and transgenetics. The prools follow the successful Methods in Molecular Biology™ series format, each offering step-by-step laboratory instructions, an introduction outlining the principles behind the technique, lists of the necessary equipment and reagents, and tips on troubleshooting and avoiding known pitfalls. Eminently practical and cutting-edge, MicroRNA Prools affords biomedical researchers readily reproducible techniques to understand and study the molecular pathogenesis of disease and design new therapeutic strategies.