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An optimistic view for quantifying mRNA in post-mortem human brain.

Paul Preece·David J Virley·Moheb Costandi·Robert Coombes·Stephen J Moss·Anne W Mudge·Elena Jazin·Nigel J Cairns
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Abstract

Quantitative human mRNA data are derived from post-mortem or biopsied tissue. RNA degradation, poor replication, a large mRNA variance and confounding factors such as brain pH and age of death are often cited, however, as objections to the data's reliability. A central question is whether post-mortem human mRNA can be treated as a statistically ordered system. TaqMan real-time RT-PCR was used to measure seven mRNAs in 513 cortical samples taken from 90 Alzheimer's disease and 81 control brains. Despite a high mRNA variance strong correlations were found between the mRNA transcripts in a single brain. Where a brain has a high/low level of one mRNA, the same brain invariably has a high/low level of other mRNAs; correlated order is present and allows removal of that source of variation common to all genes. Although levels of mRNA are highly variable between subjects (>1000-fold), quantitative order is present in post-mortem human mRNA, allowing effects due to pathology or gender to be isolated and tested for significance.

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AgedAged, 80 and overAlzheimer DiseaseAmyloid beta-Protein PrecursorBrain ChemistryCadaverCase-Control StudiesFemaleGlial Fibrillary Acidic ProteinGlyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate DehydrogenasesHumansLinear ModelsMaleMicrotubule-Associated ProteinsMiddle AgedNerve Tissue ProteinsPeptide FragmentsPostmortem ChangesRNA StabilityRNA, MessengerReproducibility of ResultsReverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain ReactionSex FactorsTaq PolymeraseComparative StudyJournal Article

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Paul Preece, David J Virley, Moheb Costandi, Robert Coombes, Stephen J Moss, Anne W Mudge, Elena Jazin, Nigel J Cairns. 2003-08-19. An optimistic view for quantifying mRNA in post-mortem human brain.. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0169-328x(03)00208-0

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