AlidaBio's EpiPlex Assay Revolutionizes RNA Modification Study
AlidaBio's EpiPlex assay has revolutionized the study of RNA modifications, particularly N6-methyladenosine (m6A), by addressing key challenges in epitranscriptomics. This innovative tool enables accurate and quantitative mapping of RNA modifications using minimal RNA input.
The EpiPlex assay combines specific enrichment of modified RNA fragments with proximity barcoding chemistry, requiring only 20 ng of polyA-enriched RNA or 250 ng of total RNA. This low input requirement overcomes a significant limitation of current epitranscriptomics methodologies.
The assay's workflow includes fragmentation, ligation, capture and encoding of modified RNA fragments, cDNA amplification, and normalization for short-read sequencing. It integrates spike-in and solution controls directly into the workflow and bioinformatic analysis, ensuring accurate quantitation and addressing the lack of internal normalization in existing methods.
The EpiPlex assay was used to study m6A regulation by METTL3 and EIF4A3 in HEK293T cells and to profile paired tumor/normal samples. This revealed dynamic m6A landscapes and the importance of spike-in controls for accurate quantitation. In a liver tumor study, the assay showed global hypomethylation in a matched tumor-normal liver pair, demonstrating distinct regulatory roles for RNA modifications and gene expression.
AlidaBio's EpiPlex Platform, enabled by the EpiPlex assay, offers a significant advancement in the study of m6A and inosine modifications across the transcriptome. By addressing the challenges of high RNA input requirements, lack of internal normalization, and subtle biological differences, the EpiPlex assay provides a powerful tool for researchers to explore the active role of RNA modifications in gene regulation.
