Tiffany T Bunde, Ana C K Pedra, Natasha R de Oliveira, Odir A Dellagostin, Thaís L O Bohn
{"title":"A systematic review on the selection of reference genes for gene expression studies in rodents: are the classics the best choice?","authors":"Tiffany T Bunde, Ana C K Pedra, Natasha R de Oliveira, Odir A Dellagostin, Thaís L O Bohn","doi":"10.1007/s11033-024-09950-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Rodents are commonly used as animal models in studies investigating various experimental conditions, often requiring gene expression analysis. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) is the most widely used tool to quantify target gene expression levels under different experimental conditions in various biological samples. Relative normalization with reference genes is a crucial step in RT-qPCR to obtain reliable quantification results. In this work, the main reference genes used in gene expression studies among the three rodents commonly employed in scientific research-hamster, rat, and mouse-are analyzed and described. An individual literature search for each rodent was conducted using specific search terms in three databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. A total of 157 articles were selected (rats = 73, mice = 79, and hamsters = 5), identifying various reference genes. The most commonly used reference genes were analyzed according to each rodent, sample type, and experimental condition evaluated, revealing a great variability in the stability of each gene across different samples and conditions. Classic genes, which are expected to be stably expressed in both samples and conditions analyzed, demonstrated greater variability, corroborating existing concerns about the use of these genes. Therefore, this review provides important insights for researchers seeking to identify suitable reference genes for their validation studies in rodents.</p>","PeriodicalId":18755,"journal":{"name":"Molecular Biology Reports","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Molecular Biology Reports","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-024-09950-3","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Rodents are commonly used as animal models in studies investigating various experimental conditions, often requiring gene expression analysis. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) is the most widely used tool to quantify target gene expression levels under different experimental conditions in various biological samples. Relative normalization with reference genes is a crucial step in RT-qPCR to obtain reliable quantification results. In this work, the main reference genes used in gene expression studies among the three rodents commonly employed in scientific research-hamster, rat, and mouse-are analyzed and described. An individual literature search for each rodent was conducted using specific search terms in three databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. A total of 157 articles were selected (rats = 73, mice = 79, and hamsters = 5), identifying various reference genes. The most commonly used reference genes were analyzed according to each rodent, sample type, and experimental condition evaluated, revealing a great variability in the stability of each gene across different samples and conditions. Classic genes, which are expected to be stably expressed in both samples and conditions analyzed, demonstrated greater variability, corroborating existing concerns about the use of these genes. Therefore, this review provides important insights for researchers seeking to identify suitable reference genes for their validation studies in rodents.
期刊介绍:
Molecular Biology Reports publishes original research papers and review articles that demonstrate novel molecular and cellular findings in both eukaryotes (animals, plants, algae, funghi) and prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea).The journal publishes results of both fundamental and translational research as well as new techniques that advance experimental progress in the field and presents original research papers, short communications and (mini-) reviews.