TY - JOUR T1 - Unlocking Pathology Archives for MicroRNA-profiling JF - Anticancer Research JO - Anticancer Res SP - 119 LP - 123 VL - 28 IS - 1A AU - KAI P. HOEFIG AU - CHRISTOPH THORNS AU - ANJA ROEHLE AU - CHRISTIAN KAEHLER AU - KAI O. WESCHE AU - DIRK REPSILBER AU - BIGGI BRANKE AU - MARLEN THIERE AU - ALFRED C. FELLER AU - HARTMUT MERZ Y1 - 2008/01/01 UR - http://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/28/1A/119.abstract N2 - Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ~22 nucleotide long, non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression by binding to the 3′-untranslated region of target mRNAs and also a variety of cellular processes. It has recently been established that dysregulation of miRNA expression can be detected in the majority of human cancers. A variety of high-throughput screening methods has been developed to identify dysregulated miRNA species in tumours. For retrospective clinical studies formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue is the most widely used material. Materials and Methods: The miRNA expression profiles of freshly frozen (CRYO) and FFPE tissues of seven tonsil and four liver samples were compared, using a qPCR-based assay, profiling 157 miRNA species. Results: The significance of miRNA-profiles was barely influenced by FFPE treatment in both tissues and the variance induced by FFPE treatment was much smaller than the variance caused by biologically based differential expression. Conclusion: FFPE material is well suited for miRNA profiling. ER -