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TechNotes 14(1)  

NEW Pre-miR™ miRNA Precursor Starter Kit
Getting Started with miRNA Analysis Experiments

Complete set of reagents to get you started analyzing miRNA function via gain-of-function experiments
Includes positive and negative control Pre-miR™ miRNA Precursors, matched real-time PCR assay, and transfection agent
Accelerates transfection optimization of miRNA mimics into human cells

The Pre-miR™ miRNA Precursor Starter Kit is designed to help researchers successfully deliver functional miRNA mimics into cultured mammalian cells. It contains a collection of reagents and protocols designed to demonstrate down-regulation of the widely-expressed Protein Tyrosine Kinase 9 (PTK9; twinfilin-1) mRNA by transfection of a synthetic miRNA precursor into adherent human cultured cells (Figure 1). A nontargeting negative control miRNA precursor and a TaqMan® Gene Expression Assay (Assay ID: Hs00702289_s1) are provided for detection of PTK9 down-regulation using real-time reverse transcription (RT)-PCR (see sidebar, The miRNA Starter Kit: What You Get). This kit can also be used to monitor PTK9 knockdown by Pre-miR hsa-miR-1 Precursor in mouse cell lines using an assay available separately (Assay ID: Mm01598980_g1).

Figure 1. Quantitation of PTK9 mRNA Down-regulation in HeLa Cells. After transfection of Pre-miR™ hsa-miR-1 Precursor HeLa cells (6,000 cells/well) were transfected in 96-well plates with either 50 nM miRNA Precursor miR-1 Pre-miR miRNA Precursor or 50 nM Pre-miR Negative Control #1 using siPORT™ NeoFX™ Transfection Agent. Cells were harvested 2 days post-transfection. PTK9 Ct values were normalized using Ct values for 18S rRNA from the corresponding samples. (A) qRT-PCR reactions showed a DCt shift caused by Pre-miR hsa-miR-1 Precursor transfection, which corresponds to a >90% reduction in PTK9 mRNA levels compared to cells transfected with Pre-miR Negative Control #1 (B).

The positive control miRNA mimic provided in the kit, Pre-miR hsa-miR-1 Precursor, down regulates PTK9 mRNA [1], enabling scientists to test and confirm delivery of Pre-miR miRNA Precursors in the cell line of choice. Successful delivery of this miRNA causes a dramatic decrease (60-95%) in intracellular levels of PTK9 mRNA in a wide variety of cell lines (Figure 2).

Figure 2. miR-1 Mediated Knockdown of PTK9 mRNA in Various Human Cell Lines. Human cell lines were transfected in 96-well plates in triplicate with either 50 nM Pre-miR™ hsa-miR-1 miRNA Precursor or Pre-miR Negative Control #1 using 0.3 µL/well siPORT™ NeoFX™ Transfection Agent. For each transfection condition, the amount of PTK9 mRNA in the miR-1 transfected cultures was compared to that in the negative control transfected samples. In every case, transfection of miR-1 Pre-miR precursor caused a >60% decrease in PTK9 expression.

The Pre-miR miRNA Precursor Starter Kit can be used to optimize transfection of Pre-miR miRNA Precursors into the cell line of choice (Figure 3). Once identified, these transfection conditions can be used for all subsequent miRNA transfections in that cell type. A suggested optimization procedure is outlined in the Instruction Manual for the kit.

Figure 3. Effect of siPORT™ NeoFX™ Transfection Agent Concentration on Pre-miR™ hsa-miR-1 miRNA Precursor Mediated Knockdown of PTK9 Expression in HeLa Cells. The Pre-miR miRNA Precursor Starter Kit can be used to optimize transfection of Pre-miR miRNA Precursors in cells. HeLa cells (4000 cells/well) were treated (in triplicate) with either 50 nM Pre-miR hsa-miR-1 miRNA Precursor or Pre-miR Precursor Negative Control #1 in conjunction with varying volumes of siPORT NeoFX Transfection Agent. For each transfection condition, the amount of PTK9 mRNA in the Pre-miR hsa-miR-1 miRNA Precursor transfected cultures was compared to that in the negative control transfected samples. In this experiment, the optimal siPORT NeoFX Transfection Agent amount was 0.4 µL/well.

Scientific Contributors
Joe Krebs, Luis Foncerrada, Sarah LaMartina, Tera Schaller • Applied Biosystems, Austin, TX

Ordering Information for Ambion Products:

Cat# Product Name Size
AM1540 Pre-miR™ miRNA Starter Kit 1 kit
AM17110 Pre-miR™ miRNA Precursor Molecules—Negative Control #1 5 nmol
AM17150 Pre-miR™ hsa-miR-1 miRNA Precursor Positive Control 5 nmol
AM4510 siPORT™ NeoFX™ Transfection Agent 0.4 ml
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
TechNotes Archive

References

1. Lim LP, Lau NC, Garrett-Engele P, Grimson A, Schelter JM, Castle J, Bartel DP, Linsley PS, Johnson JM (2005) Microarray analysis shows that some microRNAs downregulate large numbers of target mRNAs. Nature 433:769–773.

Pre-miR™ miRNA Precursors
Pre-miR miRNA Precursors are small, chemically modified, double-stranded RNA molecules designed to mimic endogenous mature miRNA molecules. These ready-to-use miRNA mimics can be introduced into cells using transfection or electroporation parameters identical to those used for siRNA delivery. The precursors enable detailed study of miRNA biological effects via gain-of-function experiments.

Pre-miR miRNA Precursors have been carefully designed and are modified to ensure that the correct strand, representing the desired mature miRNA, is taken up into the RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC) responsible for miRNA activity.

The Pre-miR™ miRNA Precursor Starter Kit: What You Get

Pre-miR hsa-miR-1 miRNA Precursor: a synthetic miRNA mimic that specifically down regulates the PTK9 gene in human and mouse cells and serves as the positive control.

Pre-miR miRNA Precursor–Negative Control #1: a nontargeting miRNA mimic.

TaqMan® Gene Expression Assay (Assay ID: Hs00702289_s1, Part Number 4331182): an assay to detect human PTK9 mRNA by qRT-PCR. PTK9 mRNA is down regulated by the positive control.

siPORT™ NeoFX™ Transfection Agent: a high-quality, lipid-based transfection agent optimized for delivering siRNAs and miRNA mimics into adherent mammalian cells with low cytotoxicity.

Nuclease-free Water

 
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