Selective isolation of a messenger RNA molecule having its cognate micro RNA molecules bound thereto

摘要

A method of selectively isolating a target mRNA molecule having its cognate miRNA molecule(s) bound thereto and capable of being separated intact comprises the steps of treating a cell preparation with a crosslinking agent to reversibly fix mRNA molecules and their cognate miRNA molcules in a bound orientation and employing immobilised capture probe means to selectively bind the target mRNA and its bound miRNA. The capture probe means comprises one or more oligonucleotide probes which are complementary to an exposed single stranded loop portion of the target mRNA molecule, wherein the capture probe means selectively binds the target mRNA and its bound miRNA molecules. Furtherv steps include removing unbound material, eluting the isolated target mRNA and its bound miRNA from the support, and optionally quantitatively or qualitatively assaying the miRNA molecules bound to the target mRNA.