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Updated: May 14, 2026

Analysis of RNA Processing Reactions Using Cell Free Systems: 3' End Cleavage of Pre-mRNA Substrates in vitro
Published on: May 3, 2014
Cleavage-based signal amplification of RNA
Yongyun Zhao1, Li Zhou, Zhuo Tang
1Natural Products Research Center, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China.
Abstract:
RNA detection has become an integral part of current biomedical research. Up to now, the reverse transcription-PCR has been the most practical method to detect mRNA targets. However, RNA detection by reverse transcription-PCR requires sophisticated equipment and it is highly sensitive to contamination with genomic DNA. Here we report a new isothermal reaction to simultaneously amplify and detect RNA, based on cleavage by DNAzyme and signal amplification. Cleavage-based signal amplification of RNA cannot be contaminated by genomic DNA and is suitable for the detection of both mRNA and microRNA targets, with high specificity and sensitivity. Moreover, the detection results can be reported in a colorimetric or real-time fluorometric way for different detection purposes.
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