title: Correcting false gene expression measurements from degraded RNA using RTQ-PCR.
abstract: This paper describes a method allowing correcting false gene expression measured on highly degraded RNA using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RTQ-PCR). RNA was isolated from different models (in vitro cell lines, in vivo models of human and dog) and different tissue types. In vitro RNA degradation and modeling of in vivo degradation were applied on intact and degraded total RNA. Gene expression (eg, Bcl-2, GAPDH, PGK, PSME3, RAB2, BAX) was measured using RTQ-PCR. 18S rRNA proved to be the most constant house-keeping gene. Less than 10-fold degraded RNA can be quantified correctly when using 18S rRNA for normalization purposes. Higher-fold degraded RNA can be quantified correctly up to a precision that is comparable to RTQ-PCR measurements on intact RNA when simulating the RNA-species and tissue-specific degradation kinetic.
authors.affiliation: Bundeswehr Institute of Radiobiology, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Port
authors.forename: Hans Ulrich
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Schmelz
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stassen
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Müeller
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stockinger
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Obermair
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abend
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D004285:Dogs; D000431:Ethanol / Q000737:chemistry; D015870:Gene Expression; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D020871:RNA Stability; D012334:RNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis* / Q000592:standards*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012260:Ribonucleases / Q000737:chemistry; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D012334:RNA, Neoplasm; D000431:Ethanol; D012260:Ribonucleases