Overview
shRNA (Short hairpin RNA) has been widely used for studying gene function in mammalian cells. There are two types of shRNA: simple stem-loop shRNA and microRNA-base shRNA (shRNAmir). FenicsBIO provides human and mouse shRNAmir gene knockdown/verification kits as both plasmids and ready-to-use lentiviruses. Each kit comes with predesigned RT-PCR primers for both target gene and control gene, making gene knockdown verification straightforward. Search your shRNAmir plasmid or lentivirus by gene name, gene symbol or keywords. If you can not find the shRNAmir you need, please contact us and we will do our best to generate it for you.
- Minimal off-target effects- Comparing to stem-loop shRNA, shRNAmir is in a vector with natural substrate of the RNAi pathway, that is processed more accurately and efficiently, with minimal or no off-target effects.
- Tissue-specific gene knockdown in vivo- Stem-loop shRNA is driven by RNA Polymerase III (Pol III) promoters, which are ubiquitously expressed. shRNAmir is expressed using RNA Polymerase II (Pol II) promoters, which provide chances to express shRNA either ubiquitously or in spatiotemporal manners in vivo.
- Inducible gene knockdown available- Using tet inducible system, shRNAmir expression can be turned on/off as needed.
- Potent inhibitory effect- Using optimized miR-30 expression cassette and design criteria, at least one of the three shRNAs will knockdown 70% gene expression.
- Verification PCR primers included- Verification of gene knockdown has been challenging. Western blot is usually used, but not every protein has good antibody. FenicsBIO’s bioinformatic team designed a unique set of real-time RT-PCR primers for whole human and mouse genome. Every shRNA kit includes a set of primers for target gene and control gene making gene knockdown verification easier.
Product Selection
Use the table below to help you decide which shRNA products are right for your experiments.
| shRNAmir with constitutive promoters | shRNAmir with tet inducible promoter | shRNAmir with tet inducible promoter | |
| Species | Human, Mouse | Human, Mouse | Human, Mouse |
| Vector format | Lentiviral | Lentiviral | Lentiviral |
| Promoter | Choice of four constitutive promoters | Tet inducible promoter | UAS elements |
| Inducible expression | No | Yes | Yes, when used with tet-inducible Gal4 |
| Tissue specific expression | No | Yes, when used with tissue specific expressed rtTA | Yes, when used with tissue specific expressed Gal4 |
| Applicable cells | Almost all types of mammalian cells | Almost all types of mammalian cells | Almost all types of mammalian cells |
| Create stable cell line | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| In vivo use | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Guarantee Knockdown | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Controls
Control shRNA with CMV promoter
Control shRNA with EF1a promoter
Control shRNA with CAG promoter
Control shRNA with UBC promoter
Guarantee
With a set of three shRNAs, FenicsBIO guarantees at least one will knockdown gene expression by 70% when validating with the real-time PCR primers provided. Optimal promoter or doxycycline concentration/induction time has to be optimized for specific cell types.