RNA hairpins and loops can function as primers for reverse transcription (RT) in absence of sequence-specific primers, interfering with the study of overlapping antisense transcripts. We have developed a technique able to identify strand-specific RNA, and we have used it to study HIV-1 antisense protein ASP.
Mancarella, A., Procopio, F. A., Achsel, T., De Crignis, E., Foley, B. T., Corradin, G., Bagni, C., Pantaleo, G., Graziosi, C. Detection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Antisense Protein (ASP) RNA Transcripts in Patients by Strand-Specific RT-PCR. J. Vis. Exp. (153), e60511, doi:10.3791/60511 (2019).