Does anyone have any experience in extracting microRNA from serum? I have used the qiagen mirRneasy kit for serum and plasma, and then ran a 84 target array. I am having difficulty in interpreting the data. Any input is appreciated
I do not understand very well. After extracting microRNA with appropriate kit what kind of array did you do? Is that is qPCR array or microarray (hybridization)?
That's what I tought but I was not sure. The diffculty in interpreting, is it due to cq (or ct) values are above 30 cycles. And because of this, the replicates are not homogenous?
Apparently you cannot use SNORD's as the 'housekeeping" control for serum micro RNA. so normalization is becoming difficult. Any ideas how to do this? I have used celegans as an spike in.
You can use software like Genorm, Normfinder...This provides sevral housekeeping (two or more) for normalization. Use a CElegans miR is a good way to get an idea of the performance of the method.
Running microRNAs from serum or any body fluids is always challenging and in our opinion arrays aren't the best solution.
At NXT-Dx, we offer miRNA expression profiling using the latest in qPCR technology. We have compared qPCR,with arrays and sequencing techniques, especially in body fluids such as serum. The qPCR approach clearly comes forward as the optimal solution. On top of this we specialize in low-input approaches with this technique, so are very capable in delivering high quality data from serum samples. We can also take care of the RNA isolation from your serum samples before starting the
If you are still planning to run this experiment and would be interested in learning more about our approach, please send me an email on [email protected].