Agarose Gel Electrophoresis of RNA

A new study from RNA

Recently, a research finds that genetic variants that reduce the editing levels of double-stranded RNA are associated with autoimmune and immune-mediated conditions.

RNA molecules can undergo modifications. For example, nucleotides may be inserted, deleted, or changed. One of the most common edits, which new research shows plays an important role in the onset of inflammatory disease, is the transformation of the nucleotide adenosine into inosine within a double-stranded RNA. A study was published on August 3 in Nature reveals that genetic variants that dampen this specific modification are associated with an increased risk of autoimmune and immune-mediated inflammatory disorders such as psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and type 1 diabetes. The authors propose that a sensor protein likely mistakes these less-edited RNAs for foreign molecules, triggering an inflammatory response.

Molecular biologist thought that it’s really a major breakthrough, and found  it “really striking” how important RNA editing appears to be for inflammatory diseases, compared to gene expression or splicing.

It is really a great research. And as an electrophoresis products sales, I am curious about what is RNA, and how the scientists analysis RNA by electrophoresis? It is a really very professional and unacquainted knowledge for me but still it is fun to explore it.

What is RNA?

RNA, short for Ribonucleic acid, a nucleic acid present in all living cells. Unlike DNA, RNA is a most often single-stranded. Its principal role is to act as a messenger carrying instructions from DNA for controlling the synthesis of proteins, although in some viruses RNA rather than DNA carries the genetic information.

Agarose Gel Electrophoresis of RNA

People can assess the quality of RNA by gel electrophoresis.

Beijing Liuyi Biotechnology Co.Ltd, a professional manufacturer focusing on electrophoresis products over 50 years, offers a range of electrophoresis tanks (chambers/cells) for gel electrophoresis, such as horizontal electrophoresis tanks (chambers/cells) for agarose gel electrophoresis, and vertical electrophoresis tanks (chambers/cells) for protein gel electrophoresis. Meanwhile, it also provides different types of electrophoresis power supply, cabinet dark box analyzer and UV transilluminator. You can choose Beijing Liuyi’s electrophoresis tanks (chambers/cells) to measure the molecular weight of RNA and to separate RNA of different sizes for your lab.

Here we will introduce one type of horizontal electrophoresis tank (chamber/cell) model DYCP-31DN from our 31 series products.

DYCP-31DN is a small size horizontal electrophoresis tank(chamber/cell) for measuring the molecular weight of RNA or DNA and to separate them.