Quantitative RT-PCR validation for miR-15a, miR-29a, miR-155 and miR-223 in independent CLL patients.

<p>Relative expression of miR-15a, miR-29a, miR-155 and miR-223 [represented as arbitrary units (a.u.)] was evaluated by individual TaqMan miRNA assays performed in duplicate and normalized to RNU43 (2^−dCt). Box plots indicate the median value (horizontal line) and the 25^th–75^th percentile range (box) while whiskers showing the maximum and minimum values. Values outside this range are shown as outliers (open circles). <i>P</i>-values were determined by the Mann-Whitney U test. In every case, miRNAs downregulated in 13q-H CLL patients relative to 13q-L patients were also found to be downregulated by quantitative RT-PCR. Similar observations were made for miR-155, which was upregulated in 13q-H patients. All comparisons were statistically significant (<i>P</i><0.05).