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Published February 2000 | public
Journal Article

Specific interference with gene function by double-stranded RNA in early mouse development

Abstract

The use of double-stranded (ds) RNA is a powerful way of interfering with gene expression in a range of organisms, but doubts have been raised about whether it could be successful in mammals. Here, we show that dsRNA is effective as a specific inhibitor of the function of three genes in the mouse, namely maternally expressed c-mos in the oocyte and zygotically expressed E-cadherin or a GFP transgene in the preimplantation embryo. The phenotypes observed are the same as those reported for null mutants of the endogenous genes. These findings offer the opportunity to study development and gene regulation in normal and diseased cells.

Additional Information

© 2000 Nature Publishing Group. RECEIVED 11 OCTOBER 1999; REVISED 25 OCTOBER 1999; ACCEPTED 17 DECEMBER 1999; PUBLISHED 23 DECEMBER 1999. We thank D. Glover for suggestions and support throughout the course of this work; J. Gurdon for the initial idea of injecting mRNA into embryos; A. McLaren for her suggestion of the use of E-cadherin as a marker; L. Larue for E-cadherin plasmids and antibody; B. Colledge for the c-mos plasmid; P.-Y. Bourillot for subcloning the c-mos construct and for helpful discussions; R. Weber for supportive discussions and help in initiating microinjection experiments; M. Evans for his enthusiasm and support with the initiation of this work; and B. Tom for the help with the statistical analysis. This work was supported by a CRC Grant to M.Z.-G., D. Glover and M. Evans. M.Z.-G. is a Senior Research Fellow of the Lister Institute for Preventive Medicine, and a Stanley Elmore Fellow of Sydney Sussex College.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 20, 2023