ABSTRACT

MicroRNAs are a class of small, non-coding RNAs that can regulate the transcription and translation of many target genes. Recently, several QPCR assays have been developed to detect the expression of microRNAs at different stages of maturation. Here, we review these assays, data analysis and quality control in detail. Optimization of the limit of detection, sample size calculation and power analysis for these QPCR arrays will be discussed. Finally, we present a case study example on qPCR arrays for the expression of pre-microRNAs.