Description
AllStars Mm/Rn Cell Death Control siRNA is a blend of highly potent siRNAs targeting ubiquitously expressed mouse/rat genes that are indispensable for cell survival. Knockdown of these genes induces a high degree of cell death, which is visible by light microscopy. AllStars Mm/Rn Cell Death Control siRNA facilitates siRNA transfection optimization and can be used routinely as a positive control. (For human cells, we recommend AllStars Hs Cell Death Control siRNA.)
Rapid detection in all cell types AllStars Mm/Rn Cell Death Control siRNA is highly effective in all mouse/rat cell types tested, including primary cells (see table). AllStars Mm/Rn Cell Death Control siRNA can be used confidently with virtually any mouse or rat cell type. There is no need to search for a new control when working with a new cell type or moving experiments from cell lines to primary cells. Examples of cell lines tested Mouse and rat cell line examples Cell type NIH/3T3 Mouse embryonic fibroblast cells B16 Mouse melanoma cells L6 Rat myoblast cells C6 Rat glioma cells Most extensively characterized RNAi controls AllStars Mm/Rn Cell Death Control siRNA significantly outperforms other commercially available toxic control siRNAs in both the level of cell death induced and in the range of cell types in which they are effective. Results from positive control experiments should always be compared with results from negative control experiments. As a negative control, QIAGEN recommends AllStars Negative Control siRNA, which is the most extensively validated negative control siRNA currently available.
Easy transfection optimization When establishing RNAi in start-up experiments or in a new cell line, multiple transfections should be performed under different conditions to determine the optimal conditions for maximum transfection efficiency. These experiments can be performed in mouse or rat cells using AllStars Mm/Rn Cell Death Control siRNA (see figure "Fast and easy analysis"). Reliable high-throughput RNAi In high-throughput RNAi screens, it is essential to use internal positive controls to ensure that optimal transfection conditions are maintained on every plate of the screen. Positive controls that can be analyzed phenotypically have the advantage of allowing transfection efficiency to be observed immediately. Using AllStars Mm/Rn Cell Death Control siRNA on every plate allows rapid and inexpensive estimation of the transfection rate on individual plates.
Transfection efficiency can be quickly estimated by simply observing cells by straightforward light microscopy 48–96 hours after transfection, avoiding the need for any complex or laborious downstream assay. Transfection conditions that result in the greatest degree of cell death in comparison with transfection with a nonsilencing control siRNA can be maintained in future experiments.
