Comparison of Reproducibility, Accuracy, Sensitivity, and Specificity of miRNA Quantification Platforms
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Given the increasing interest in their use as disease biomarkers, the establishment of reproducible, accurate, sensitive, and specific platforms for microRNA (miRNA) quantification in biofluids is of high priority. We compare four platforms for these characteristics: small RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), FirePlex, EdgeSeq, and nCounter. For a pool of synthetic miRNAs, coefficients of variation for technical replicates are lower for EdgeSeq (6.9%) and RNA-seq (8.2%) than for FirePlex (22.4%); nCounter replicates are not performed. Receiver operating characteristic analysis for distinguishing present versus absent miRNAs shows small RNA-seq (area under curve 0.99) is superior to EdgeSeq (0.97), nCounter (0.94), and FirePlex (0.81). Expected differences in expression of placenta-associated miRNAs in plasma from pregnant and non-pregnant women are observed with RNA-seq and EdgeSeq, but not FirePlex or nCounter. These results indicate that differences in performance among miRNA profiling platforms impact ability to detect biological differences among samples and thus their relative utility for research and clinical use.
Source: Cell Reports
Language: English
Subfield: Cancer Research
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $5,200
Awards: Plasma miRNA predictors of adverse mechanical and electrical remodeling after MI, Reference Profiles of ExRNAs in Normal Human Pregnancy, ExRNAs for Early Identification of Pregnancies at Risk for Placental Dysfunction, Defining A Comprehensive Reference Profile of Circulating Human Extracellular RNA, Reference Profiles of Extracellular RNA in 4 Body Fluids of Healthy Humans, Mentoring Research in Precision Medicine for Lung Disease, Training in Reproductive Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W2994705325