MicroRNA MultiTool: A Software for Identifying Modified and Unmodified Human microRNA Using Mass Spectrometry

Zhonghao Cui; Norman H L Chiu; Dickson M Wambua

doi:10.3390/ncrna3010013

MicroRNA MultiTool: A Software for Identifying Modified and Unmodified Human microRNA Using Mass Spectrometry

Noncoding RNA. 2017 Mar 16;3(1):13. doi: 10.3390/ncrna3010013.

Authors

Zhonghao Cui¹, Norman H L Chiu^{2

3}, Dickson M Wambua⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. zhjcui@gmail.com.
² Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. prof.chiu@gmail.com.
³ Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. prof.chiu@gmail.com.
⁴ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. dickmuoki@gmail.com.

Abstract

microRNA (miRNA) are short endogenous non-coding RNA that play a crucial role in post-transcriptional gene regulation and have been implicated in the initiation and progression of 160+ human diseases. Excellent analytical methods have been developed for the measurement of miRNA by mass spectrometry. However, interpretation of mass spectrometric data has been an incapacitating bottleneck in miRNA identification. This study details the development of MicroRNA MultiTool, a software for the identification of miRNA from mass spectrometric data. The software includes capabilities such as miRNA search and mass calculator, modified miRNA mass calculator, and miRNA fragment search. MicroRNA MultiTool bridges the gap between experimental data and identification of miRNA by providing a rapid means of mass spectrometric data interpretation.

Keywords: MicroRNA MultiTool; RNA modification; mass spectrometry; microRNA; modification.