Ribopure blood refers to a specialized blood sample from which RNA has been isolated and purified. This purification process removes contaminants and preserves RNA integrity, making it suitable for scientific and medical investigations. The high purity achieved is essential for obtaining accurate and reliable results in downstream analyses. High-quality RNA from blood is gaining recognition in diverse research and clinical settings.
The Significance of RNA in Blood
RNA acts as a messenger of genetic information, carrying instructions from our DNA to the cellular machinery that builds proteins. Beyond this, noncoding RNAs perform regulatory functions without coding for proteins. Noncoding RNAs are numerous, with over 25,000 genes identified in the human genome, exceeding protein-coding genes.
RNA molecules, including both protein-coding and noncoding types, circulate in the bloodstream as “cell-free RNA” (cfRNA), originating from various tissues and organs, including tumors. These circulating RNA fragments are byproducts of natural cell death throughout the body. Analyzing these RNA molecules in blood offers a non-invasive way to gain insights into health status, gene expression, and disease progression. This allows for monitoring changes without more invasive procedures like tissue biopsies.
Applications of Ribopure Blood
Purified RNA from blood has diverse uses. One application is biomarker discovery, identifying specific RNA molecules as indicators for disease presence or progression. For instance, certain microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in cancer progression and suppression, offering new avenues for non-invasive cancer detection. Researchers are testing hundreds of clinical studies to determine if microRNAs in blood can aid in diagnosing conditions ranging from asthma to Alzheimer’s disease.
Ribopure blood also aids in disease monitoring, allowing clinicians to track treatment effectiveness or disease progression. A newly developed blood test analyzes messenger RNA in the bloodstream to identify cancer at different stages, track resistance to treatments, and monitor healthy tissue injury. This method can detect elevated levels of normal lung RNA in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and correlate with illness severity in COVID-19 patients.
Obtaining pure RNA from blood enables non-invasive diagnostics, offering less invasive ways to diagnose conditions compared to traditional tissue biopsies. For example, RNA liquid biopsy technology can detect cancer by sequencing cell-free RNA in blood, testing for both protein-coding and repetitive noncoding RNA. This approach has shown promise in identifying specific cancer types like pancreatic, lung, and esophageal cancers at early stages. Purified RNA from blood is also invaluable in research, contributing to a deeper understanding of biological processes and the development of new therapies.
The Critical Role of Purity
The “ribopure” aspect is important because the quality and purity of extracted RNA directly influence the reliability of downstream molecular analyses. Blood presents challenges for RNA extraction, including abundant cellular components like red blood cells. These contain hemoglobin, which can inhibit common molecular tests like RT-PCR. Plasma, making up about 60% of blood, contains high concentrations of RNases, enzymes that degrade RNA. Rapid inactivation of these enzymes is necessary to preserve RNA integrity.
Impurities, such as residual DNA or proteins, can lead to inaccurate or unreliable results in sensitive analyses like PCR or sequencing. For example, if hemoglobin is carried over during purification, it can clog filters and interfere with downstream applications. The total quantity of RNA recovered can also vary significantly between different extraction methods, impacting the recovery of weakly expressed transcripts. High purity ensures the integrity and functionality of the extracted RNA, making it suitable for demanding applications like real-time RT-PCR and microarray analysis. This purification process, often involving sequential techniques like phenol/chloroform extraction and glass fiber filter purification, removes contaminants such as protein, heme, genomic DNA, and RNases, yielding high quantities of pure RNA.