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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

interfering RNA, adrenal cortical cells

College

Life Sciences

Department

Physiology and Developmental Biology

Abstract

Before the turn of the century, biological research was taken by storm with the discovery of inhibitory RNA (RNAi). In 1995, Guo and Kemphues (Mello & Conte, 2004) stumbled into this discovery and were later awarded the Nobel Prize in science for their discovery. The discovery turned into a technique that is used to knock out genes with laser-like precision, and although the precision of RNAi has come into question recently, it is still a valued technique (Couzin, 2004). However, still in its infancy, the extent to which RNAi is used naturally in different tissues is unclear. To the extent of our knowledge, previous studies have identified RNAi in steroidogenic tissues but have yet to explore the existence or expression of RNAi in the adrenal gland. This project focused on establishing the existence and expression of RNAi in the adrenal gland. The project was successful in that the existence of RNAi was confirmed in adrenal cortical H295R cells, and these results have prompted further research by comparing endogenous levels of RNAi with levels after treatment with dbCAMP. Initial data also gives a possible mechanism for the acute regulation of StAR, and revealed many RNAi that are conserved across species. Although a success, this project was not without its obstacles.

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