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Germline transmission of RNAi in mice

Nature Structural Biology volume 10, pages 91–92 (2003)Cite this article

MicroRNA molecules (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNA molecules that have been found in a diverse array of eukaryotes, including mammals. miRNA precursors share a characteristic secondary structure, forming short 'hairpin' RNAs. Genetic and biochemical studies have indicated that miRNAs are processed to their mature forms by Dicer, an RNAse III family nuclease, and function through RNA-mediated interference (RNAi) and related pathways to regulate the expression of target genes (reviewed in refs. 1,2). Recently, we and others (reviewed in ref. 3) have remodeled miRNAs to permit experimental manipulation of gene expression in mammalian cells and have dubbed these synthetic silencing triggers 'short hairpin RNAs' (shRNAs). Silencing by shRNAs requires the RNAi machinery and correlates with the production of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which are a signature of RNAi.

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Figure 1: Heritable repression of Neil1 expression by RNAi in several tissues.
Figure 2: Reduction in Neil1 protein correlates with the presence of siRNAs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S.Y. Kim for help with transgenesis experiments. M.A.C. is supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the U.S. Army Breast Cancer Research Program. G.J.H. is supported by an Innovator Award from the U.S. Army Breast Cancer Research Program and is a Rita Allen Foundation Scholar. This work was supported in part by grants from the N.I.H (G.J.H. and T.A.R). T.A.R. also thanks M. Frohman and A.P. Grollman for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Watson School of Biological Sciences, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, 11724, New York, USA

    Michelle A. Carmell, Douglas S. Conklin & Gregory J. Hannon

  2. Program in Genetics, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, 11794, New York, USA

    Michelle A. Carmell

  3. University Transgenic Mouse Facility, State University of New York, Stony Brook, 11794, New York, USA

    Liqun Zhang & Thomas A. Rosenquist

  4. Department of Pharmacological Sciences, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, 11794, New York, USA

    Thomas A. Rosenquist

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Correspondence to Thomas A. Rosenquist.

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Carmell, M., Zhang, L., Conklin, D. et al. Germline transmission of RNAi in mice. Nat Struct Mol Biol 10, 91–92 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsb896

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