Monitoring Gene Expression: Quantitative Real-Time RT-PCR

Two-step quantitative real-time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR), also known as real-time RT-PCR, kinetic RT-PCR, or quantitative fluorescent RT-PCR, has become the method of choice for gene expression analysis during the last few years. It is a fast and convenient PCR method that combines traditional RT-PCR with the phenomenon of fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) using fluorogenic primers. The detection of changes in fluorescence intensity during the reaction enables the user to follow the PCR reaction in real time.RT-qPCR comprises several steps: (1) RNA is isolated from target tissue/cells; (2) mRNA is reverse-transcribed to cDNA; (3) modified gene-specific PCR primers are used to amplify a segment of the cDNA of interest, following the reaction in real time; and (4) the initial concentration of the selected transcript in a specific tissue or cell type is calculated from the exponential phase of the reaction. Relative quantification or absolute quantification compared to standards that are run in parallel can be performed.This chapter describes the entire procedure from isolation of total RNA from liver and fatty tissues/cells to the use of RT-qPCR to study gene expression in these tissues. We perform relative quantification of transcripts to calculate the fold-difference of a certain mRNA level between different samples. In addition, tips for choosing primers and performing analyses are provided to help the beginner in understanding the technique.