ABSTRACT
Transfection studies are virtually obligatory if one is to begin to understand the mode of action of newly cloned genes. This chapter explores the concept of the transfection of animal cells in the context of a more detailed discussion of the appropriate technology for different experiments. Stable integration works on the basis that the DNA, on entering the nucleus, can sometimes integrate into the DNA of the host genome. This is a relatively rare event, but can be selected for on the basis of the transfected DNA containing a gene, the protein product of which confers resistance to a drug to which the cells are otherwise sensitive. The number of available techniques for the introduction of foreign genes into eukaryotic cells has steadily increased and grown in diversity. Receptor-mediated transfer of DNA using protamine or poly-L-lysine conjugates is a new technique that utilizes the features of the internalization of occupied cell surface receptors into endosomes.
