Validation of reference genes for normalization of real-time quantitative RT-PCR data in traumatic brain injury

Journal of Neuroscience Research
Naomi L CookCorinna van den Heuvel

Abstract

Careful validation of reference genes used for the normalization of real-time RT-PCR data is required to obtain accurate results regarding gene expression. We evaluated the stability of seven commonly used reference genes in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of rats 3 days following traumatic brain injury (TBI). HPRT, SDHA, and GUSB were found to be the most stable reference genes in the cerebral cortex, whereas B2MG, TBP, and GAPDH were the most stable in the hippocampus. The use of three reference genes was determined to be the optimal number for accurate normalization of data. To illustrate this point, when our gene of interest, substance P (SP), was normalized against the three most stable reference genes in both brain areas, we found no significant difference between injured and uninjured rats at the 3-day time point. However, when our SP data were normalized to each reference gene individually, SP mRNA level was highly variable depending on the reference gene chosen. The results of the present study highlight the importance of validating reference genes to be used for real-time RT-PCR analysis. The use of the most stable reference genes presented here will allow more accurate normalization of gene expression data in TBI.

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Citations

Jan 17, 2014·Molecular Biology of the Cell·Melanie K B WillsNina Jones
Mar 24, 2010·Journal of Molecular Neuroscience : MN·Naomi L CookCorinna van den Heuvel
Sep 26, 2012·Developmental Neurobiology·Tizeta TadesseSarah L Pallas
Mar 28, 2019·Developmental Neurobiology·Qi ChengSarah L Pallas
Jul 14, 2017·Frontiers in Neurology·Robert VinkEmma Thornton
Jul 17, 2020·International Journal of Molecular Sciences·Ellen OttoJohannes Keller

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