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Impact of ambient temperature exposure on miRNA stability in human plasma

Véronique Desgagné1,2, Flore Lavoie1,2,3, Imad Soukar4

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Functional Genomics, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Canada.

Biotechniques
|September 8, 2025
PubMed

Insights

Progressive thawing degrades microRNAs (miRNAs) in plasma samples. Specific miRNAs like miR-150-5p and miR-517a-3p show significant degradation, impacting their stability for research.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genomics

Background:

  • MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are crucial non-coding RNAs involved in gene regulation.
  • miRNAs are generally considered more stable than messenger RNAs (mRNAs).
  • The stability of miRNAs during sample handling, particularly thawing, is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify the impact of progressive thawing on miRNA concentrations in human plasma.
  • To assess the stability of specific plasma miRNAs under ambient temperature storage.
  • To identify factors influencing miRNA stability during sample handling.

Main Methods:

  • Digital PCR was used to measure absolute concentrations of selected miRNAs.
  • Human plasma samples underwent progressive thawing and storage at ambient temperature.
  • Quantified miRNAs included let-7b-3p, miR-144-5p, miR-150-5p, miR-517a-3p, miR-524-5p, and miR-1283.

Main Results:

  • A trend of declining miRNA concentration was observed with progressive thawing.
  • miR-150-5p and miR-517a-3p exhibited the least stability, degrading by 32% and 52% respectively after 24 hours.
  • Degradation rates did not correlate with miRNA GC content or initial plasma abundance.

Conclusions:

  • Progressive thawing significantly impacts miRNA concentrations in plasma.
  • Specific miRNAs show differential stability, with miR-150-5p and miR-517a-3p being particularly vulnerable.
  • Factors beyond GC content and abundance, potentially protein interactions or vesicular transport, influence miRNA stability.
Keywords:
ambient temperaturedigital PCRmiRNAplasmastability

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