title: Expressed Alu repeats as a novel, reliable tool for normalization of real-time quantitative RT-PCR data.
abstract: We describe a novel strategy for mRNA normalization in quantitative real-time PCR that is based on expressed Alu repeat amplification as a measure for the mRNA fraction. We show that expressed Alu repeat amplification is a fast, accurate normalization tool that can be successfully used for quantification of selected mRNA in the human transcriptome. This result is particularly important for clinical diagnosis and biomarker validation studies based on mRNA detection in human blood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacological Sciences and Center for Stem Cell Research, University of Milan, 9 Via Balzaretti, Milan, 20133, Italy. manuela.marullo@unimi.it
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marullo
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zuccato
authors.forename: Caterina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mariotti
authors.forename: Nayana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lahiri
authors.forename: Sarah J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tabrizi
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Di Donato
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cattaneo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D020087:Alu Elements; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D008957:Models, Genetic; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D012313:RNA / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin; D012313:RNA