A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (∼22 nucleotides), non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. As the miRNA field is still in its relative infancy, there is currently a lack of consensus regarding optimal methodologies for miRNA quantification, data analysis and data...

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Main Authors: Nicholas Redshaw, Timothy Wilkes, Alexandra Whale, Simon Cowen, Jim Huggett, Carole A. Foy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2013-03-01
Series:BioTechniques
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/000114002
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author Nicholas Redshaw
Timothy Wilkes
Alexandra Whale
Simon Cowen
Jim Huggett
Carole A. Foy
author_facet Nicholas Redshaw
Timothy Wilkes
Alexandra Whale
Simon Cowen
Jim Huggett
Carole A. Foy
author_sort Nicholas Redshaw
collection DOAJ
description MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (∼22 nucleotides), non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. As the miRNA field is still in its relative infancy, there is currently a lack of consensus regarding optimal methodologies for miRNA quantification, data analysis and data standardization. To investigate miRNA measurement we selected a panel of both synthetic miRNA spikes and endogenous miRNAs to evaluate assay performance, copy number estimation, and relative quantification. We compared two different miRNA quantification methodologies and also assessed the impact of short RNA enrichment on the miRNA measurement. We found that both short RNA enrichment and quantification strategy used had a significant impact on miRNA measurement. Our findings illustrate that miRNA quantification can be influenced by the choice of methodology and this must be considered when interpreting miRNA analyses. Furthermore, we show that synthetic miRNA spikes can be used as effective experimental controls for the short RNA enrichment procedure.
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spelling doaj-art-bc8a9dc8c3df40bab75e8f6ddc6374cb2025-08-20T02:25:57ZengTaylor & Francis GroupBioTechniques0736-62051940-98182013-03-0154315516410.2144/000114002A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatabilityNicholas Redshaw0Timothy Wilkes1Alexandra Whale2Simon Cowen3Jim Huggett4Carole A. Foy51LGC Limited, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, UK1LGC Limited, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, UK1LGC Limited, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, UK1LGC Limited, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, UK1LGC Limited, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, UK1LGC Limited, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex, UKMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short (∼22 nucleotides), non-coding RNA molecules that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. As the miRNA field is still in its relative infancy, there is currently a lack of consensus regarding optimal methodologies for miRNA quantification, data analysis and data standardization. To investigate miRNA measurement we selected a panel of both synthetic miRNA spikes and endogenous miRNAs to evaluate assay performance, copy number estimation, and relative quantification. We compared two different miRNA quantification methodologies and also assessed the impact of short RNA enrichment on the miRNA measurement. We found that both short RNA enrichment and quantification strategy used had a significant impact on miRNA measurement. Our findings illustrate that miRNA quantification can be influenced by the choice of methodology and this must be considered when interpreting miRNA analyses. Furthermore, we show that synthetic miRNA spikes can be used as effective experimental controls for the short RNA enrichment procedure.https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/000114002MicroRNAsRT-qPCRshort RNA enrichment
spellingShingle Nicholas Redshaw
Timothy Wilkes
Alexandra Whale
Simon Cowen
Jim Huggett
Carole A. Foy
A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability
BioTechniques
MicroRNAs
RT-qPCR
short RNA enrichment
title A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability
title_full A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability
title_fullStr A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability
title_full_unstemmed A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability
title_short A comparison of miRNA isolation and RT-qPCR technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability
title_sort comparison of mirna isolation and rt qpcr technologies and their effects on quantification accuracy and repeatability
topic MicroRNAs
RT-qPCR
short RNA enrichment
url https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/000114002
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