Whole-Transcriptome Profiling on Small FFPE Samples: Which Sequencing Kit Should Be Used?

RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) appears as a great tool with huge clinical potential, particularly in oncology. However, sufficient sample size is often a limiting factor and the vast majority of samples from patients with cancer are formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE). To date, several sequencing kits...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marc Hilmi, Lucile Armenoult, Mira Ayadi, Rémy Nicolle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-05-01
Series:Current Issues in Molecular Biology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1467-3045/44/5/148
Description
Summary:RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) appears as a great tool with huge clinical potential, particularly in oncology. However, sufficient sample size is often a limiting factor and the vast majority of samples from patients with cancer are formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE). To date, several sequencing kits are proposed for FFPE samples yet no comparison on low quantities were performed. To select the most reliable, cost-effective, and relevant RNA-Seq approach, we applied five FFPE-compatible kits (based on 3′ capture, exome-capture and ribodepletion approaches) using 8 ng to 400 ng of FFPE-derived RNA and compared them to Nanostring on FFPE samples and to a reference PolyA (Truseq) approach on flash-frozen samples of the same tumors. We compared gene expression correlations and reproducibility. The Smarter Pico V3 ribodepletion approach appeared systematically the most comparable to Nanostring and Truseq (<i>p</i> < 0.001) and was a highly reproducible technique. In comparison with exome-capture and 3′ kits, the Smarter appeared more comparable to Truseq (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Overall, our results suggest that the Smarter is the most robust RNA-Seq technique to study small FFPE samples and 3′ Lexogen presents an interesting quality–price ratio for samples with less limiting quantities.
ISSN:1467-3037
1467-3045