siRNA/siAb™ Assay Kits provide convenience and economy by combining into one format products that are guaranteed to knock-down the targeted mRNA and detect the level of the targeted protein. The kit's siRNA SMARTpool®s and antibodies have been extensively validated and together with the included positive and negative controls, they make data generation easier and more trusted. Components available separately. Capacity dependent on choice of plate format, see COA.
To assist researchers in addressing and minimizing potentially confounding issues associated with siRNA-dependent gene silencing.; 5X Universal Buffer is no longer supplied with this kit, however, it can be made using the recipe found here.
This product is not available for sale in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, The Phillippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and China.
Unless otherwise stated in our catalog or other company documentation accompanying the product(s), our products are intended for research use only and are not to be used for any other purpose, which includes but is not limited to, unauthorized commercial uses, in vitro diagnostic uses, ex vivo or in vivo therapeutic uses or any type of consumption or application to humans or animals.
This gene encodes a cytoplasmic protein tyrosine kinase which is found concentrated in the focal adhesions that form between cells growing in the presence of extracellular matrix constituents. The encoded protein is a member of the FAK subfamily of protein tyrosine kinases but lacks significant sequence similarity to kinases from other subfamilies. Activation of this gene may be an important early step in cell growth and intracellular signal transduction pathways triggered in response to certain neural peptides or to cell interactions with the extracellular matrix. At least four transcript variants encoding four different isoforms have been found for this gene, but the full-length natures of only two of them have been determined.
FUNCTION: SwissProt: Q05397 # Non-receptor protein-tyrosine kinase implicated in signaling pathways involved in cell motility, proliferation and apoptosis. Activated by tyrosine-phosphorylation in response to either integrin clustering induced by cell adhesion or antibody cross-linking, or via G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) occupancy by ligands such as bombesin or lysophosphatidic acid, or via LDL receptor occupancy. Plays a potential role in oncogenic transformations resulting in increased kinase activity. SIZE: 1052 amino acids; 119233 Da SUBUNIT: Interacts with CAS family members and with GIT1, SORBS1 and BCAR3. Interacts with SHB (By similarity). Interacts with TGFB1I1. SUBCELLULAR LOCATION: Cell junction, focal adhesion; Cytoplasmic side. Note=Constituent of focal adhesions. TISSUE SPECIFICITY: Expressed in all organs tested, in lymphoid cell lines, but most abundantly in brain. DOMAIN: SwissProt: Q05397 The first Pro-rich domain interacts with the SH3 domain of CRK-associated substrate (BCAR1) and CASL (By similarity). & The carboxy-terminal region is the site of focal adhesion targeting (FAT) sequence which mediates the localization of FAK1 to focal adhesions. PTM: Phosphorylated on 6 tyrosine residues upon activation. SIMILARITY: Belongs to the protein kinase superfamily. Tyr protein kinase family. FAK subfamily. & Contains 1 FERM domain. & Contains 1 protein kinase domain.
What transfection reagent do you recommend?
» Answer
Upstate sells a product called siIMPORTER™. siIMPORTER™ is a Cationic lipid formulation that has been designed for efficient transfection of siRNA into a wide variety of mammalian cell lines with extremely low cytotoxicity.
What tissue culture plate format should I use?
» Answer
This will depend largely on the requirements of your experimental conditions. siRNA SMART pools® have been used successfully in a range of tissue culture dishes from 96 well plates up to 6 well plates. For each plate format, cell number and transfection conditions should be optimized.
Why buy the siRNA/siAB kit?
» Answer
Dharmacon and Upstate have paired together reagents into a kit, which offer you value and convenience. There is a cost savings by buying the kit when compared to buying the kit components individually. Additionally, in most cases, Upstate antibodies are not offered with positive control cell lysates when purchased separately.
What is the difference between an siRNA SMART pool® and an siRNA?
» Answer
siRNA SMART pool® are a mixture of four individual siRNAs that have been designed with Dharmacon's proprietary algorithms, SMARTselection and SMARTpool. SMARTselection uses 34 criteria to eliminate the non-functional siRNAs. Then the SMARTpool technology uses a sophisticated algorithm to combine 4 or more SMART selected siRNA duplexes in a single pool, resulting in even greater probability that the siRNA pool reagent will reduce mRNA to low levels as compared to using a randomly designed single siRNA designed against the same gene.
How much should the protein level decrease?
» Answer
The half-life of some proteins is particularly long. The siRNA SMART pool® mediated decrease in an mRNA may not be indicative of its protein level decrease if the gene product being targeted is very stable. Although we guarantee that the siRNA SMART pool® will reduce mRNA levels by at least 50%, we cannot guarantee that the level of a protein will decrease by a proportional level due to the variance in protein stability and cell systems.
I need a control for siRNA use; do you offer a product like that?
» Answer
We recommend using the siSTARTER kit to pilot your siRNA/siAB experiments. With this kit, you will be able to determine the efficacy of your transfections by knocking-down the expression of an internal control protein that has been well characterized to respond to siRNA-mediated knock-down: Lamin A/C. Additionally, you may use a host of control siRNA's offered by Dharmacon to control and optimize your experiments. Refer to www.dharmacon.com or call Dharmacon at 800-235-9880.
When should I look for a siRNA-dependent decrease in target protein level?
» Answer
We recommend to start looking for a decrease 48 hours after transfection of the siRNA SMART pool®. However, the maximal decrease may be reached later. It is advisable to set up a time course experiment to identify optimal conditions. The cell system being used and the half-life of the specific protein being tested will determine when the maximal reduction is reached. The half-life of some proteins is particularly long and the level of its mRNA decrease may not be indicative of its protein level decrease.
When should I look for a siRNA-dependent decrease in target mRNA level?
» Answer
We recommend to start looking for a decrease 24 hours after transfection of the siRNA SMART pool. However, the maximal decrease may be reached later. It is advisable to set up a time course experiment to identify optimal conditions. The cell system being used and the half-life of the specific mRNA being tested will determine when the maximal reduction is reached.
Do the siRNA SMART pools induce an interferon-mediated PKR response?
» Answer
It is known that double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in mammalian cells is able to trigger a strong physiological response that results in a global, translational inhibition and mRNA degradation. dsRNA can initiate interferon synthesis whereby PKR and 2', 5'-oligoadenylate synthase become activated. Activated PKR phosphorylates translational initiation factors, which causes the cell's translational machinery to stall. Activated 2', 5'-oligoadenylate synthase results in the activation of ribonuclease L that causes cellular mRNA degradation. Together, this results in a general, non-specific, dsRNA-mediated silencing of gene expression. However, using dsRNA, that is shorter than 30bp in length, allows RNAi to occur without activating the interferon response. The short length of the dsRNA allows the interferon response to be bypassed. This prevents the non-specific knockdown of gene expression. The dsRNA molecules in the siRNA SMART pools are siRNA duplexes shorter than 30bp, and therefore will not active the interferon-mediated PKR response. Please see reference: Elbashir, S. M., et al. (2001) Nature 411, 494-498.
What is the stability of the SMART pool?
» Answer
2'-ACE protected RNA, either duplexed or single stranded is completely resistant to nucleases by virtue of the protecting group. A deprotected duplex is significantly more resistant to nucleases than deprotected single strands. However, maintaining sterile, RNAse free conditions is always recommended as a precaution.
How are the siRNA SMART pools synthesized?
» Answer
The duplexes that comprise an siRNA SMARTpools are processed as Option A4 duplexes (deprotected/desalted; annealed). The duplexes all have "UU" overhangs and a 5' phosphate on the antisense strand.
When should I look for a siRNA-dependent decrease in target mRNA level?
» Answer
We recommend to start looking for a decrease 24 hours after transfection of the siRNA SMART pool®. However, the maximal decrease may be reached later. It is advisable to set up a time course experiment to identify optimal conditions. The cell system being used and the half-life of the specific mRNA being tested will determine when the maximal reduction is reached.