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

• 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.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Medicinska och farmaceutiska grundvetenskaper -- Neurovetenskaper (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Basic Medicine -- Neurosciences (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Genetik (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Genetics (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Aged

Aged; 80 and over

Alzheimer Disease/metabolism

Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor/genetics

Brain Chemistry

Cadaver

Case-Control Studies

Comparative Study

Female

Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein/genetics

Glyceraldehyde-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenases/genetics

Humans

Linear Models

Male

Microtubule-Associated Proteins/genetics

Middle Aged

Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics

Peptide Fragments/genetics

Postmortem Changes

RNA Stability

RNA; Messenger/*analysis/chemistry

Reproducibility of Results

Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods

Sex Factors

Taq Polymerase

Neurobiology

Neurobiologi

Genetics

Genetik

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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