MicroRNAs are small noncoding but functionally important RNA molecules that are involved in regulating diverse cellular, metabolic, and immune processes. Their small size necessitates modification in traditional acid phenol-chloroform based RNA isolation procedures to get highly enriched fraction of small RNA that includes miRNAs and siRNAs . Further, of the different methods available, real-time PCR is a powerful tool for precise and specific detection and quantification of miRNA. Moreover, real-time PCR is used to validate the screening or expression of miRNAs that are discovered during high-throughput sequencing, or microarray analysis. We demonstrate here the method of extraction of miRNAs from cultured PBMCs of bubaline origin followed by the qPCR-based (both SYBR green and TaqMan -based chemistries) identification of miRNAs expressed in response to TLR ligand stimulation.
Keywords: PBMCs; Small RNAs; TaqMan MicroRNA assay; miScript primer assay.