Phospho‐RNA‐seq: a modified small RNA‐seq method that reveals circulating mRNA and lncRNA fragments as potential biomarkers in human plasma

• Maria D Giraldez ^[1] ; Ryan M Spengler ^[2] ; Alton Etheridge ^[3] ; Annika J Goicochea ^[2] ; Missy Tuck ^[2] ; Sung Won Choi ^[4] ; David J Galas ^[3] ; Muneesh Tewari ^[5]
  1. [1] 1 Department of Internal Medicine Hematology/Oncology Division University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; 2 Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS) Seville Spain; 3 Unit of Digestive Diseases Virgen del Rocio University Hospital Seville Spain
  2. [2] 1 Department of Internal Medicine Hematology/Oncology Division University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA
  3. [3] 4 Pacific Northwest Research Institute Seattle WA USA
  4. [4] 5 Department of Pediatrics Hematology/Oncology Division University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA
  5. [5] 1 Department of Internal Medicine Hematology/Oncology Division University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; 6 Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; 7 Department of Biomedical Engineering University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA; 8 Biointerfaces Institute University of Michigan Ann Arbor MI USA

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• Localización: EMBO journal: European Molecular Biology Organization, ISSN 0261-4189, Vol. 38, Nº. 11, 2019
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • Extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) in biofluids have attracted great interest as potential biomarkers. Although extracellular microRNAs in blood plasma are extensively characterized, extracellular messenger RNA (mRNA) and long non‐coding RNA (lncRNA) studies are limited. We report that plasma contains fragmented mRNAs and lncRNAs that are missed by standard small RNA‐seq protocols due to lack of 5′ phosphate or presence of 3′ phosphate. These fragments were revealed using a modified protocol (“phospho‐RNA‐seq”) incorporating RNA treatment with T4‐polynucleotide kinase, which we compared with standard small RNA‐seq for sequencing synthetic RNAs with varied 5′ and 3′ ends, as well as human plasma exRNA. Analyzing phospho‐RNA‐seq data using a custom, high‐stringency bioinformatic pipeline, we identified mRNA/lncRNA transcriptome fingerprints in plasma, including tissue‐specific gene sets. In a longitudinal study of hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients, bone marrow‐ and liver‐enriched exRNA genes were tracked with bone marrow recovery and liver injury, respectively, providing proof‐of‐concept validation as a biomarker approach. By enabling access to an unexplored realm of mRNA and lncRNA fragments, phospho‐RNA‐seq opens up new possibilities for plasma transcriptomic biomarker development.