Fig. 3.

Validation of piRNA expression with RT-qPCR. Dysregulation of five piRNAs was validated using RT-qPCR with two methods, the standard curve method to visualize the overall trend for piRNA perturbation (A) and the △CT method to quantify expression in individual samples (B). Both methods confirm that these five piRNAs were significantly altered in sALS samples in comparison with controls. A Average change in expression of each piRNA in control vs sALS samples. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test analysis was used for statistical calculations. Error bars denote SEMs. B piRNA expression by ΔCT in control vs sALS. The Mann–Whitney test was used for statistical calculations. ns: not significant. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01