miRNAs are small non-coding RNAs of about 18-25 nucleotides that negatively regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. It was reported that a deregulation of their expression patterns correlates to the onset and progression of various diseases. Recently, these molecules have been identified in a great plethora of biological fluids, and have also been proposed as potential diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Actually, real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction is the most widely used approach for circulating miRNAs (c-miRNAs) expression profiling. Nevertheless, the debate on the choice of the most suitable endogenous reference genes for c-miRNAs expression levels normalization is still open. In this regard, numerous research groups are focusing their efforts upon identifying specific, highly stable, endogenous c-mRNAs. The aim of this review is to provide an overview on the reference genes currently used in the study of various pathologies, offering to researchers the opportunity to select the appropriate molecules for c-miRNA levels normalization, when their choosing is based upon literature data.
Keywords: circulating microRNAs; endogenous reference genes; non-invasive diagnostic biomarkers; real-time qRT-PCR.