Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
09:16
Meiotic Spindle Assessment in Mouse Oocytes by siRNA-mediated Silencing
Published on: October 11, 2015
Targeted 'knockdown' of spliceosome function in mammalian cells
Nathalie Matter1, Harald König
1Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe GmbH, Institut für Toxikologie und Genetik Postfach 3640, D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Nucleic Acids Research
|February 26, 2005
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to selectively inhibit two distinct splicing systems in mammalian cells. This breakthrough allows for studying the roles of different spliceosomes in gene expression and genome evolution.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Multicellular organisms possess two distinct splicing machineries.
- Understanding their roles in proteome expansion and genome evolution is crucial.
- Previous research lacked methods to selectively inhibit these systems in vivo.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a technique for selectively inhibiting U2 and U12 splicing systems in mammalian cells.
- To investigate the in vivo functions of distinct spliceosomes.
- To provide tools for studying spliceosome roles in gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Utilized morpholino oligomers targeting branch-site recognition elements of U2 or U12 small nuclear RNA.
- Applied these oligomers to suppress specific splicing system functions in mammalian cells.
- Analyzed pre-mRNA splicing from endogenous mammalian genes.
Main Results:
- Morpholino oligomers selectively inhibited U2 and U12 splicing systems.
- Demonstrated the first evidence of distinct spliceosomes' roles in mammalian pre-mRNA splicing.
- Established a novel tool for in vivo spliceosome research.
Conclusions:
- Selective inhibition of splicing systems is achievable using targeted morpholino oligomers.
- Distinct spliceosomes play defined roles in mammalian gene splicing.
- This methodology enables further exploration of spliceosome functions in vivo.
Related Concept Videos
01:32RNA Splicing
Splicing is the process by which eukaryotic RNA is edited before its translation into protein. The RNA strand transcribed from eukaryotic DNA is called the primary transcript. The primary transcripts that become mRNAs are called precursor messenger RNAs (pre-mRNAs). Eukaryotic pre-mRNA contains alternating sequences of exons and introns. Exons are nucleotide sequences that code for proteins, whereas introns are the non-coding regions. In RNA splicing, introns are removed and exons are bonded...
01:16In-vitro Mutagenesis
To learn more about the function of a gene, researchers can observe what happens when the gene is inactivated or “knocked out,” by creating genetically engineered knockout animals. Knockout mice have been particularly useful as models for human diseases such as cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes.
02:18Alternative RNA Splicing
Alternative RNA splicing is the regulated splicing of exons and introns to produce different mature mRNAs from a single pre-mRNA. Unlike in constitutive splicing where a single gene produces a single type of mRNA, alternative splicing allows an organism to produce multiple proteins from a single gene and plays an important role in protein diversity.
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...
There are five types of alternative RNA splicing that vary in the ways the pre-mRNA segments are removed or retained in the mature mRNA. The first...
02:15Experimental RNAi
RNA interference (RNAi) is a cellular mechanism that inhibits gene expression by suppressing its transcription or activating the RNA degradation process. The mechanism was discovered by Andrew Fire and Craig Mello in 1998 in plants. Today, it is observed in almost all eukaryotes, including protozoa, flies, nematodes, insects, parasites, and mammals. This precise cellular mechanism of gene silencing has been developed into a technique that provides an efficient way to identify and determine the...