miRCURY LNA miRNA Focus PCR Panels

• Ready-to-use miRNA PCR panels focused on particular applications, sample types or diseases
• Fast and easy to use with no pre-amplification required
• Simple protocol for high reproducibility and minimal technical variation
• Reliable discrimination of closely related miRNAs and mature and precursor miRNAs

miRCURY LNA miRNA Focus PCR Panels enable exceptionally sensitive and specific miRNA profiling with the miRCURY LNA miRNA PCR System. These PCR primer panels are enhanced with LNA technology and are specific for particular sample types, diseases or pathways, providing a flexible solution that allows you to focus on the miRNAs relevant to your application. miRCURY LNA miRNA Focus PCR Panels are pre-aliquoted in 96- or 384-well PCR plates and are ready for use.

Need a quote for your research project or would you like to discuss your project with our specialist team? Just contact us!

Serum/Plasma miRNA PCR Panels

Why study miRNAs in serum and plasma?
miRNAs are present in small amounts in serum and plasma. They circulate in the blood in a highly stable, cell-free form, suggesting that they are protected from the RNA-degrading enzymes found in blood (see figures  miRNAs are stable in serum and plasma and  Complete miRNA serum profile).
miRNA profiles have been shown to be altered in serum and plasma taken from patients suffering from cancer and other diseases. This makes miRNAs promising candidates for use in non-invasive discovery of important new biomarkers for a wide range of diseases and biological processes. Blood samples are easy to obtain and carry little risk to the patient, compared with biopsies and surgical procedures.

Challenges of miRNA profiling in serum and plasma
Serum and plasma only contain a fraction of the RNA found in whole blood (see figure  Blood serum and plasma contain small amounts of RNA). Most of the RNA is found in the buffy coat, which mainly consists of white blood cells and platelets. To get accurate miRNA profiles, it is important to ensure that the serum/plasma is not contaminated by RNA from blood cells, as this would skew the results of the experiment.
Several other challenges exist when profiling miRNAs in serum and plasma, including:

• Small amounts of RNA prevent use of standard RNA quality control methods
• RNA from serum/plasma contains inhibitors of PCR enzymes
• Standard reference genes, such as U6, are not present in serum and plasma, making it difficult to choose good reference genes

Overcoming these challenges requires an extremely accurate miRNA qPCR system. The miRCURY LNA miRNA PCR system has a proven track record for reliable detection of miRNAs in serum and plasma samples. >

Cancer Focus miRNA PCR Panels

miRNA and cancer
Numerous studies have demonstrated links between miRNA dysregulation and various disease states, including a diverse array of human cancers. miRNAs have been shown to act as both oncogenes and tumor suppressors. The high relative stability of miRNA in common clinical source materials (e.g., FFPE blocks, plasma, urine, saliva, etc.) and the ability of miRNAs to function as molecular markers for discrete tissue types and disease states have positioned miRNA quantification as a promising new tool for a wide range of applications. miRNAs can be used as disease classifiers for different types of cancers or as biomarkers to monitor the effects of therapy on cancer prognosis and progression.
Identify miRNA biomarkers or new classifiers
Cancer Focus miRNA PCR Panels can be used for many types of cancer miRNA profiling from samples including FFPE and biofluids. These miRNA profiles can be used to identify unique cancer signatures and help identify biomarkers or classifiers for cancer types and progression (see figures  Six types of cancers compared and miRNA expression from four types of cancer). >

Exosome Focus miRNA PCR Panels

How the assays were selected
All miRNA assays in the Exosome Focus miRNA PCR Panels were selected based on a combination of experimental data from in-house studies on exosomes using our miRCURY LNA miRNA PCR System and results published in peer-reviewed journals. The assays are not a complete list targeting all miRNAs found in exosomes, but they target those miRNAs typically found (see figure  Urine and CSF miRNA profiles). If missing some miRNAs is a concern, we recommend running a full miRNome study using the miRCURY LNA miRNA miRNome PCR Panels.

Serum/Plasma miRNA PCR Panels

• 96 well, ready-to-use: two 96-well PCR plates with a total of 179 LNA miRNA primer sets commonly found in human serum/plasma, including 7 candidate reference miRNAs; compatible with most real-time PCR instruments (see table below).
  The product to order consists of 4 panel sets (4x two 96-well plates).
• 384 well, ready-to-use: one 384-well PCR plate with two replicates of 179 LNA miRNA primer sets commonly found in human serum/plasma, including 7 candidate reference miRNAs; compatible with most real-time PCR instruments (see table below).
  The product to order consists of 4 panel sets (2x one 384-well plates).

• miR-103-3p, miR-191-5p and miR-423-5p: these are potential reference genes found on our miRNome PCR Panels and can be used by researchers migrating to the focus panels
• miR-93-5p and miR-425-5p: these potential reference genes are chosen because they are usually stably expressed in serum/plasma
• miR-451a and miR-23a-3p: these can be used as a control for hemolysis. If ∆C_q(miR-23a-3p – miR-451a) is >7, it may be an indication of contamination of the serum/plasma samples.

Cancer Focus miRNA PCR Panels

• 96-well plate format: one Cancer Focus Panel on one 96-well plate.
  The product to order consists of 4 panel sets (4x one 96-well plates).
• 384-well plate format: eight Cancer Focus Panels delivered in two 384-well plates (sufficient for 8 samples). These plates have been specifically designed for fast and easy manual and multi-pipetting.
  The product to order consists of 8 panel sets (2x one 384-well plates).

• 84 miRNAs specifically linked to cancer
• 3 miRNA reference genes: miR-103-3p, miR-191-5p, miR-423-5p
• snRNA reference genes: SNORD49A, U6 snRNA, SNORD38B
• 3 Inter-plate calibrators (UniSp3 IPC)
• 5 RNA spike-ins (cel-miR-39-3p, UniSp2, UnuSp4, UniSp5 and UniSp6)

Exosome Focus miRNA PCR Panels

• All typically expressed miRNAs found in urine or cerebrospinal fluid samples in one PCR panel
• A highly flexible solution that allows you to focus on the miRNAs relevant to your exosome project
• Intuitive plate designer allows replacement of assays in the plates before ordering
• Sensitivity and specificity for accurate miRNA profiling
• Fast and easy, ready-to-use format enables direct sample application and a full profile in less than 3 hours
• High compatibility 96- and 384-well formats are compatible with most real-time PCR instruments

• 87 miRNA LNA PCR primer sets targeting human miRNAs expressed in human exosomes from urine
• 5 of the miRNA assays can also be used as potential internal control primers: hsa-miR-103-3p, hsa-miR-191-5p, hsa-miR-93-5p, hsa-miR-423-3p and hsa-miR-423-5p
• 5 RNA spike-in controls available for selection in the panel configurator for use as positive controls (e.g., for quality control of the RNA purification and the RT reaction)
• 3 inter-plate calibrators (3 x UniSp3 IPC)

• 87 miRNA LNA PCR primer sets targeting human miRNAs expressed in human exosomes from cerebrospinal fluid
• 3 of the miRNA assays can also be used as potential internal control primers: hsa-miR-103-3p, hsa-miR-191-5p and hsa-miR-93-5p
• 5 RNA spike-in controls available for selection in the configurator for use as positive controls (e.g., for quality control of the RNA purification and the RT reaction)
• 3 inter-plate calibrators (3 x UniSp3 IPC)