[43] Cationic liposome-mediated RNA transfection

This chapter discusses the report of the development of a high-efficiency RNA transfection system using DOTMA-containing liposomes (lipofectin), which was previously used to transfect DNA into cells. The procedure is simple, reliable, and at least 100- to 1000-fold more efficient than the presently available DEAE-dextran method. In many instances, the transient expression of an exogenous protein may be all that is necessary to answer the question at hand. In these cases, it may be worthwhile for the researcher to consider the mRNA transfection approach because of the relative efficiency of the system. A particular attractive feature of the RNA-lipofectin procedure is the ability to transfect a wide variety of cell types. In addition, RNA can be transfected into human, mouse, rat, Xenopus, and Drosophila cells, thus enlarging the scope of this method. The RNA-lipofectin procedure can also be used to study the effect of various sequence elements on mRNA stability. The RNA-lipofectin method can be used to introduce RNA directly into whole tissues and embryos, raising the possibility that liposome-mediated mRNA transfection might offer yet another option in the growing technology of eukaryotic gene delivery, one based on the concept of using RNA as a drug.