RNA quality control in miRNA expression analysis

RNA quality control in miRNA expression analysis
Agilent Technologies Application Note 5990 5557 EN
http://tinyurl.com/3aabtf6

RNA quality control in miRNA expression analysis
Christiane Becker, Martina Reiter, Michael W. Pfaffl
Agilent Technologies Application Note 5990-5557EN

It is generally known that total RNA quality has a distinct influence on the validity and reliability of quantitative PCR results. In addition, the recently published MIQE guidelines focus on the pre-PCR steps and state the importance of RNA quality assessment. Various studies showed the impairing effect of ongoing RNA degradation on mRNA expression results. Therefore, the verification of RNA integrity prior to downstream applications like RT-qPCR and mircroarrays is indispensable. A fast and reliable assessment of RNA integrity can be done with the Eukaryote Total RNA Nano Assay of the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer. The importance of RNA quality should also be considered in new applications such as the investigation of miRNA expression profiles. With the Agilent Small RNA Assay, Agilent is offering one of the few possibilities for selectively estimating miRNA before expression analysis. However, by now little is known about factors affecting miRNA analysis. Herein, the important impact of total RNA quality on quantification of mRNA and miRNA should be considered.