Table 1.

Salient features of miRNAs making them ideal biomarkers.

Sensitive: immediate release before mRNA transcription and protein translation

Specific: tissue- and disease-specific regulation

Dynamic range: approximately 50,000 copies of miRNA/cell

Translational potential: highly conserved with a high degree of inter- and intraspecies homology

Stability: more resistant to degradation than mRNA and proteins and able to be detected in FFPE tissues (although DNA is more stable, it is less tissue specific)

Accessible in a plethora of biological fluids, allowing noninvasive detection

Quantitative by PCR amplification