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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/209210
3′IsomiR Species Composition Affects Reliable Quantification of miRNA/isomiR Variants by Poly(A) RT-qPCR: Impact on Small RNA-Seq Profiling Validation
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Small RNA-sequencing (small RNA-seq) has revealed the presence of small RNA-naturally occurring variants such as microRNA (miRNA) isoforms or isomiRs. Due to their small size and the sequence similarity among miRNA isoforms, their validation by RT-qPCR is challenging. We previously identified two miR-31-5p isomiRs-the canonical and a 3 ' isomiR variant (3 ' G addition)-which were differentially expressed between individuals with azoospermia of different origin. Here, we sought to determine the discriminatory capacity between these two closely-related miRNA isoforms of three alternative poly(A) based-RT-qPCR strategies in both synthetic and real biological context. We found that these poly(A) RT-qPCR strategies exhibit a significant cross-reactivity between these miR-31-5p isomiRs which differ by a single nucleotide, compromising the reliable quantification of individual miRNA isoforms. Fortunately, in the biological context, given that the two miRNA variants show changes in the same direction, RT-qPCR results were consistent with the findings of small RNA-seq study. We suggest that miRNA selection for RT-qPCR validation should be performed with care, prioritizing those canonical miRNAs that, in small RNA-seq, show parallel/homogeneous expression behavior with their most prevalent isomiRs, to avoid confounding RT-qPCR-based results. This is suggested as the current best strategy for robust biomarker selection to develop clinically useful tests.
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FERRÉ, Adriana, et al. 3′IsomiR Species Composition Affects Reliable Quantification of miRNA/isomiR Variants by Poly(A) RT-qPCR: Impact on Small RNA-Seq Profiling Validation. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2023. Vol. 24, num. 20. ISSN 1422-0067. [consulted: 12 of June of 2026]. Available at: https://hdl.handle.net/2445/209210