How can HTG detect both miRNA and mRNA analysis in the same sample well?
The qNPA portion of the protocol remains the same when miRNAs are targeted. Detection by the ArrayPlate requires a small protocol change to allow for Avidin-HRP binding, while data acquisition and analysis is performed as with the normal ArrayPlate. Other expression technologies require significantly different reverse transcription, labeling, or detection schemes to detect miRNAs, and these technical approaches often cannot be applied to mRNAs in general. Normalizing expression data becomes difficult because the standard mRNA housekeeping genes cannot be detected on the same platform. Often the results of two different detection technologies need to be fitted together to create a picture of miRNA expression levels, requiring statistical interpretation and less reliable results.
