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Updated: Feb 3, 2026

Cerebrospinal Fluid MicroRNA Profiling Using Quantitative Real Time PCR
Published on: January 22, 2014
MicroRNA profile analysis for discrimination of monozygotic twins using massively parallel sequencing and real-time
Chen Fang1, Jing Zhao2, Xu Liu1
1Beijing Center for Physical and Chemical Analysis, Beijing 100094, PR China; Beijing Engineering Technology Research Centre of Gene Sequencing and Gene Function Analysis, Beijing 100094, PR China.
Abstract:
In general, it is extremely problematic to discriminate between monozygotic twins (MZTs), who share the same genomic DNA sequence, using traditional DNA-based identification methods such as short tandem repeat profiling. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have shown potential in forensic applications owing to their low molecular weight, abundant and tissue-specific expression. In this study, we utilized massively parallel sequencing technology to perform genome-wide profiling of miRNAs in the blood from four pairs of healthy MZTs. On average, 158 miRNAs were detected in each individual and 14% of which were differentially expressed within each pair of MZTs. The miRNAs with the most significant differences in expression between the twins were confirmed using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Our results demonstrated that miRNAs have potential for use as molecular markers in MZTs discrimination.
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