Analysis of microRNA from archived formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are noncoding small RNAs that regulate gene expression. This study investigated whether formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens from postmortem cases of neurodegenerative disorders would be suitable for miRNA profiling. Results: Ten FFPE samples from 6 cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 4 neurologically normal controls were selected for miRNA analysis on the basis of the following criteria for RNA quality: (i) a postmortem interval of less than 6 hours, (ii) a formalin fixation time of less than 4 weeks, (iii) an RNA yield per sample of more than 500 ng, and (iv) sufficient quality of the RNA agarose gel image. An overall RNA extraction success rate was 46.2%. For ALS, a total of 364 miRNAs were identified in the motor cortex, 91 being up-regulated and 233 down-regulated. Target genes were predicted using miRNA bioinformatics software, and the data applied to ontology analysis. This indicated that one of the miRNAs up-regulated in ALS (miR-338-3p) had already been identified in leukocytes, serum, cerebrospinal fluid and frozen spinal cord from ALS patients. Conclusion: Although analysis was possible for just under half of the specimens examined, we were able to show that informative miRNA data can be derived from archived FFPE samples from postmortem cases of neurodegenerative disorders.