SCIENTISTS PUBLISH RESULTS ON SIGMA-ALDRICH’S shRNA LIBRARY IN CELL

Sigma-Aldrich (NASDAQ: SIAL), a leader in RNAi and functional genomics, welcomes publication in the journal Cell (March 24, 2006) by researchers from its collaborative partners at The RNAi Consortium (TRC).

The publication reported the creation of a lentiviral shRNA library to knock down genes for genome-wide screening. The library, now commercially available as Sigma-Aldrich’s lentiviral MISSION™ shRNA library, targets 19,000 human and mouse genes and offers a new resource for somatic cell genetics providing new insights in loss-of-function screens in mammalian cells. It will facilitate comprehensive screening efforts and will be useful in enabling arrayed screens that focus on mouse or human primary cells.

The method takes advantage of RNA interference (RNAi) combined with a lentiviral delivery system to express small-hairpin RNAs (shRNA) in the target cell. The shRNAs are then processed to small interfering RNAs binding to the RNA of a specific gene leading to subsequent degradation. Compared with other delivery systems, lentiviral vectors enable the transduction of non-dividing cells and a long-term knockdown within the target cell.

The scientists addressed several issues for the use of RNAi as a screening method, including the efficient gene transfer, the specificity and efficiency of the gene knockdown, and other technical requirements. They characterized the performance of the library and identified 100 candidate regulatory genes, which modulate mitosis after knockdown, thereby demonstrating the significance and use of the new technology. The library serves as a cost-effective, renewable and scalable RNAi-screening resource for the scientific community.

“The Cell publication of these results using Sigma-Aldrich’s MISSION™ shRNA libraries demonstrates the importance of the new and innovative tool for scientists worldwide,” said Keith Jolliff, Director of Strategic Marketing at Sigma-Aldrich. “Our goal is to offer the scientific community cutting-edge functional genomics products such as the shRNA libraries, as we continue to serve the market with highly innovative solutions.“