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. 2016 Jul 11;113(29):8156–8161. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1601301113

Fig. S2.

Fig. S2.

RNA mass and integrity in the DBS calibration study. Total RNA mass (A) and RNA integrity (B) were assessed in PBMC, DBS, and saliva samples collected in parallel from n = 58 community dwelling adults. Compared with the PBMC gold standard, DBSs yielded significantly lower quantities of RNA (mean = 1,792 ng for PBMCs vs. 75 ng for DBSs; difference P < 0.0001 by Wilcoxon test). Saliva yielded total RNA mass on the same order of magnitude as PBMCs (mean = 1,029 ng), but with greater levels of degradation (mean RIN score = 9.1 for PBMCs vs. 7.9 for saliva, difference P < 0.0001 by Wilcoxon test). RIN scores range from 0 (fully degraded) to 10 (fully intact) and are unavailable for DBSs (B) because sample RNA mass fell below the limit required for valid assay.