title: Serum microRNAs are promising novel biomarkers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Circulating nucleic acids (CNAs) offer unique opportunities for early diagnosis of clinical conditions. Here we show that microRNAs, a family of small non-coding regulatory RNAs involved in human development and pathology, are present in bodily fluids and represent new effective biomarkers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After developing protocols for extracting and quantifying microRNAs in serum and other body fluids, the serum microRNA profiles of several healthy individuals were determined and found to be similar, validating the robustness of our methods. To address the possibility that the abundance of specific microRNAs might change during physiological or pathological conditions, serum microRNA levels in pregnant and non pregnant women were compared. In sera from pregnant women, microRNAs associated with human placenta were significantly elevated and their levels correlated with pregnancy stage.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considering the central role of microRNAs in development and disease, our results highlight the medically relevant potential of determining microRNA levels in serum and other body fluids. Thus, microRNAs are a new class of CNAs that promise to serve as useful clinical biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: Rosetta Genomics Ltd, Rehovot, Israel.
authors.forename: Shlomit
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gilad
authors.forename: Eti
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meiri
authors.forename: Yariv
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yogev
authors.forename: Sima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Danit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lebanony
authors.forename: Noga
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yerushalmi
authors.forename: Hila
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Benjamin
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kushnir
authors.forename: Hila
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cholakh
authors.forename: Nir
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Melamed
authors.forename: Zvi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bentwich
authors.forename: Moshe
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hod
authors.forename: Yaron
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Goren
authors.forename: Ayelet
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chajut
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002474:Cell-Free System; D004247:DNA / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011264:Pregnancy Trimesters; D012313:RNA / Q000097:blood; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA
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