title: Biology of circulating mRNA: still more questions than answers?
abstract: A few years after the first description of free-circulating DNA in plasma and serum, the detection of tumor-associated overexpressed mRNA in plasma was also reported. This observation has been confirmed and it seems to be clear that the presence of free-circulating RNA is a ubiquitous phenomenon. In this short review I will discuss some basic aspects of the release mechanisms for the RNA, its biological meaning, and clinical value.
authors.affiliation: Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Medizinische Klinik m.S. Onkologie u. Hämatologie, Molekularbiologisches Labor, Alte Apotheke, Schumannstr. 20-21, 10117 Berlin, Germany. michael.fleischhacker@charite.de
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fleischhacker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger