Ambion Kinase siRNA Library Used In Key Cellular Trafficking Study

Austin, TX - Two groundbreaking scientific papers, describing a detailed analysis of the role of human kinases in endocytosis that was performed using an siRNA library produced by Ambion, were published recently in the scientific journal Nature. The papers, which were authored by a group at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden, Germany, identified human kinases involved in the cellular process of endocytosis.

Endocytosis, the process by which cells internalize nutrient, cell signaling, and other molecules, is important for multiple functions ranging from cholesterol metabolism to neurotransmitter signaling to viral infection. Using an RNA interference (RNAi) screening approach, the authors identified 210 different human kinases that are involved in endocytosis, including novel findings related to viral infection. This is the largest published RNAi screen using a siRNA library to date.

The MPI-Dresden team used the Ambion Silencer(R) Kinase siRNA Library to perform their RNAi screen. In an RNAi screen, the expression of individual genes is systematically reduced by introduction of double-stranded RNA molecules, and then the resulting effects on cells are measured. The Silencer Kinase siRNA Library includes a highly validated collection of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that can individually reduce gene expression of all of the human kinases. This kinase-targeting set of siRNAs is the most popular subset of siRNAs within the Silencer(R) Human Genome siRNA Library.

"Over the last 3 years, RNA interference has revolutionized functional genomics research, and this work illustrates the power of the approach," Matt Winkler, Ambion CEO and CSO, commented about this publication. "We are excited to know that our siRNAs and siRNA libraries are allowing researchers such as the MPI group to generate such remarkable findings."

Marino Zerial, Director of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, MPI-CBG in Dresden, Germany, said, "Our recently published work is one of the first papers to use siRNAs targeting an entire class of genes to explore how they coordinate two endocytic mechanisms in response to different signaling pathways. Without the siRNA library, this work could not have been performed. This work demonstrates how high content assays coupled to RNAi-based genome-wide screens can provide novel mechanistic insights as well as unexpected opportunities for drug development."

SOURCE: Ambion, Inc.