Quantitation of microRNAs by real-time RT-qPCR

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ∼22 nucleotide regulatory RNA molecules that play important roles in controlling developmental and physiological processes in animals and plants. Measuring the level of miRNA expression is a critical step in methods that study the regulation of biological functions and that use miRNA profiles as diagnostic markers for cancer and other diseases. Even though the quantitation of these small miRNA molecules by RT-qPCR is challenging because of their short length and sequence similarity, a number of quantitative RT-qPCR-based miRNA quantitation methods have been introduced since 2004. The most commonly used methods are stem-loop reverse transcription (RT)-based TaqMan(®) MicroRNA assays and arrays. The high sensitivity and specificity, large dynamic range, and simple work flow of TaqMan(®) MicroRNA assays and arrays have made TaqMan analysis the method of choice for miRNA expression profiling and follow-up validation. Other methods such as poly (A) tailing-based and direct RT-based SYBR miRNA assays are also discussed in this chapter.