Rapid isolation of total RNA from mammalian tissues

A rapid procedure for the isolation of total RNA from small amounts of mammalian tissue (35 to 150 mg) is described. Tissues were homogenized in the presence of RNase inhibitors but in the absence of strong detergents. Contaminants were removed by phenol/chloroform extraction and Sephadex column chromatography. Total RNAs were precipitated with ethanol and sodium acetate. The RNAs isolated were intact and suitable for mRNA quantitation via Northern blot or slot-blot analyses. This procedure isolates total RNAs in high yield and purity, without CsCl ultracentrifugation, and is especially useful when mRNAs must be quantitated from many samples.