Central European Institute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic.
Methods Mol Biol. 2020;2115:221-247. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0290-4_13.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous noncoding RNAs, which regulate gene expression on the post-transcriptional level. Since miRNAs are involved in the regulation of apoptosis, cellular proliferation, differentiation, and other important cellular processes, their deregulation is important for the development of a wide range of diseases including cancer. Apart from tissue, specific disease-related miRNA signatures can be found in body fluids as well. Especially for urologic diseases or injuries, urine miRNAs represent a promising group of biomarkers. Despite a large number of studies describing the importance of urinary miRNAs, there is a lack of recommendations for urine management and subsequent miRNA analysis. Thus, in this chapter, we aim to describe the origin and functions of urinary miRNAs and discuss the technical aspects of their detection including the pre-analytical phase principles and new directions in quantification, which could forward urine miRNA into clinical practice.
微小 RNA（miRNA）是内源性非编码 RNA，可在转录后水平调控基因表达。由于 miRNA 参与凋亡、细胞增殖、分化和其他重要细胞过程的调控，其失调对于包括癌症在内的多种疾病的发生具有重要意义。除了组织外，体液中也存在特定与疾病相关的 miRNA 特征。特别是对于泌尿系统疾病或损伤，尿液 miRNA 代表了一组很有前途的生物标志物。尽管有大量研究描述了尿 miRNA 的重要性，但在尿液管理和随后的 miRNA 分析方面缺乏建议。因此，在本章中，我们旨在描述尿 miRNA 的来源和功能，并讨论其检测的技术方面，包括分析前阶段的原则和定量方面的新方向，这可能会推动尿 miRNA 进入临床实践。
