Serum microRNAs are promising novel biomarkers.
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.
Gilad
Shlomit
S
Rosetta Genomics Ltd, Rehovot, Israel.
Meiri
Eti
E
Yogev
Yariv
Y
Benjamin
Sima
S
Lebanony
Danit
D
Yerushalmi
Noga
N
Benjamin
Hila
H
Kushnir
Michal
M
Cholakh
Hila
H
Melamed
Nir
N
Bentwich
Zvi
Z
Hod
Moshe
M
Goren
Yaron
Y
Chajut
Ayelet
A
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
D015415:Biomarkers; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D035683:MicroRNAs; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA
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