The effect of delay in collection and processing on RNA integrity in human placenta: experiences from rural Africa

M. L. Jobarteh, S. E. Moore, C. Kennedy, L. Gambling, Harry J. McArdle

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)
11 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between time to processing and RNA quality in placentas collected from women in a field setting in rural Gambia. Placental samples were collected from the villages and transferred to the laboratory. RNA was extracted using Trizol and integrity assessed using the RNA integrity number (RIN). Values were inversely correlated with delay in processing. Expression levels of candidate genes increased with decreasing RIN. Normalising to a housekeeper gene removed this artefact. We propose a cut-off point of 90 min from delivery, after which samples cannot be used for gene expression analysis. (C) 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)72-74
Number of pages3
JournalPlacenta
Volume35
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2014

Bibliographical note

Open Access funded by Medical Research Council
Under a Creative Commons license

The ENID Trial is funded by the UK Medical Research Council (core funding to the MRC International Nutrition Group; MC-A760-5QX00). This study was further supported by the Scottish Government (Rural and Environmental Sciences and Analytical Services). The authors are grateful to Dr Helen Hayes for technical assistance and are especially grateful to the mothers and the ENID Trial staff who made this study possible.

SEM conceived and designed the original ENID Trial. SEM and HJM conceived the sub-study on placental development. MLJ co-ordinated all the field work, supervised all laboratory processing in The Gambia, conducted all experimental work in Aberdeen, performed statistical analyses and wrote the first draft of the paper. CK and LG supervised all laboratory work in Aberdeen. All authors contributed to the final version of the paper. None of the authors had a conflict of interest to report.

Keywords

  • RNA integrity number (RIN)
  • ribonucleic acid (RNA)
  • placenta transferrin receptor
  • placental genes
  • iron metabolism

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The effect of delay in collection and processing on RNA integrity in human placenta: experiences from rural Africa'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this