Alternate splicing takes place naturally in cells to generate different mRNAs. Can it be induced and controlled artificially?
Yes, depending on what you want to do/study.
You can act on a set of mRNAs through the regulation (inhibition or overexpression) of splicing regulators.
If you're interested in a specific mRNA you can control the alternative splicing with modified anti-sens RNA oligos (2'O-methyl, PMO, PNA, LNA...) that are called splice switching oligonucleotides. They target ESE/ESI/ISE/ISI sequences or the splice site directly (but the latter seems to work less efficiently). Those SSOs have been shown to work in mouse models and they're used as a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Article Therapeutic Potential of Splice-Switching Oligonucleotides
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