Microinjection of mRNA into Somatic Cells

Maki Murata‐Hori, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
Yu‐Li Wang, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA

Published online: May 2005

DOI: 10.1038/npg.els.0002696

Abstract

Microinjection of messenger RNA (mRNA) represents a convenient, effective approach to probe protein functions during specific period of the cell cycle.

Keywords: protein expression; mitosis; mRNA; microinjection

Figure 1.

Mitotic normal rat kidney (NRK) cells. The cells are in prometaphase (a) and metaphase (b) In both cells, microinjection should be performed around the peripheral region of the cell (marked by asterisks) to avoid damaging the mitotic spindle by microinjection. Bar, 10 μm.
Figure 2.

Microinjection of mRNA coding for a nondegradable mutant of cyclin B, Δ90, into an NRK cell expressing aurora B‐GFP. (a and b) An uninjected NRK cell expressing aurora B‐GFP. (c and d) An NRK cell injected with mRNA for cyclin B Δ90 during prometaphase and incubated until anaphase. Bar, 10 μm. In both cases, aurora B is localized at centromeres during prometaphase and metaphase (not shown). In the control cells (a and b), aurora B relocates from centromeres to the central spindle upon anaphase onset. However, in the cell microinjected with mRNA for cyclin B Δ90 (c and d), aurora B remains associated with centromeres during anaphase.
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References

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Murata‐Hori M, Tatsuka M and Wang YL (2002) Probing the dynamics and functions of aurora B kinase in living cells during mitosis and cytokinesis. Molecular Biology of the Cell 13: 1099–1108.

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Related Sub-Topics:

Translation and Protein Synthesis | Techniques in Cell Biology | Single Molecule Analysis | Growth and Synthesis | Cell Cycle | Techniques and Tools in Molecular Biology
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Article Title: Microinjection of mRNA into Somatic Cells
 
How to Cite close
Murata‐Hori, Maki, and Wang, Yu‐Li(May 2005) Microinjection of mRNA into Somatic Cells. In: eLS. John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester. http://www.els.net [doi: 10.1038/npg.els.0002696]