Biased detection of guanine-rich microRNAs by array profiling: Systematic error or biological phenomenon?

摘要

This article describes an unexpected phenomenon which was revealed during the study of microRNA expression profiles of breast tumors. Hierarchical clustering has distinguished two broad groups of microRNAs with different expression patterns. One of these groups, Group Q ("questionable"). was composed mainly of recently discovered microRNAs and contained a large number of viral microRNA species. This microRNA subset was found to be extremely rich in guanine. The above features suggest that the Group Q is an artifact of microRNA expression profiling. However, the latter explanation is not supported by the evidence for biologically relevant associations observed for the Group Q microRNAs.