Ed into the nCounter Prep Station for automated sample purification and subsequent reporter capture. Each sample was scanned for 600 FOV on the nCounter Digital Analyzer. Data was extracted using the nCounter RCC Collector.Data AnalysisData sets were generated by using the least amount of processing allowed by each platform. With the exception of the NGS platform, detected transcripts were defined according to manufacturer criteria for the Affymetrix, Agilent, Illumina, and NanoString platforms respectively. For Figure 3, which provided the fractional deviation from the mean scaled signal, the percent of maximum signal for each platform for each sample was calculated. The mean scaled expression for each miRNA rank was then computed in order to determine the expression decrease across the five platforms, from the top rank down to the bottom rank. Because Illumina is a distinct outlier from the other platforms, the trimmed mean is used for the plot. Next, the deviation from the mean is calculated for each platform, and the fractional deviation was plotted against the mean scaled expression.Fluidigm Dynamic Array Quantitative PCRSamples were analyzed by real-time PCR according to the manufacturer’s instructions for the Fluidigm dynamic array (South San Francisco, CA). All PCR amplification reagents were purchased from Applied Biosystems, Inc. (Foster City, CA). Briefly, 50 ng of total RNA was reverse transcribed in a 15 ml reaction mixture containing 0.2 ml of 100 nM dNTP, 0.2 ml of RNase inhibitor 20 U/ml, 1.5 ml of reverse transcriptase (50 U/Multi-Platform Analysis of MicroRNA ExpressionAffymetrix. Raw data for cross-platform comparisons was extracted without normalization by using the miRNA QC Tool (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA). For the purpose of this study, the 847 human miRNA transcripts that are purchase 80-49-9 interrogated on Affymetrix miRNA Array 1.0 (miRBase 11.0) were analyzed. Signal intensities with p,0.06 were considered to be detected. Illumina. Data were extracted without background subtraction or normalization in a Sample Probe Profile format by using BeadStudio v3.4 (Illumina). The vendor provided miRNA Homatropine (methylbromide) web detection threshold was p,0.05. For this platform, 858 miRNA transcripts were interrogated and available for detection. Agilent. Data was 24195657 extracted using Agilent Feature Extraction Software v9.5 (Santa Clara, CA). Transcripts detectable by the Agilent platform had a standard error of three times the background. There were 719 miRNAs detectable on this platform. NanoString. Raw data was normalized using internal positive spike controls to account for variability in the hybridization process. The data was further normalized to the average counts of all endogenous miRNAs in each lane to account for any variability in the sample input. MiRNA detection was determined using a metric that yields a detection call at a confidence level of 95 (p,0.05). This detection measure identifies all miRNAs in which the count of the miRNA is two standard deviations above the average of negative spike probes. This platform interrogated 654 miRNA targets. miRNA-Seq. The sequence reads from the Illumina Genome Analyzers were aligned using the Efficient Large-Scale Alignment of Nucleotide Databases (ELAND) algorithm. The Flicker (Illumina) tool was used for processing and initial analysis of miRNA sequencing data including the following steps: 1) trimming the known Illumina adaptor from the reads and exclusion of reads smaller than 15 bp. 2) Alignment of trimm.Ed into the nCounter Prep Station for automated sample purification and subsequent reporter capture. Each sample was scanned for 600 FOV on the nCounter Digital Analyzer. Data was extracted using the nCounter RCC Collector.Data AnalysisData sets were generated by using the least amount of processing allowed by each platform. With the exception of the NGS platform, detected transcripts were defined according to manufacturer criteria for the Affymetrix, Agilent, Illumina, and NanoString platforms respectively. For Figure 3, which provided the fractional deviation from the mean scaled signal, the percent of maximum signal for each platform for each sample was calculated. The mean scaled expression for each miRNA rank was then computed in order to determine the expression decrease across the five platforms, from the top rank down to the bottom rank. Because Illumina is a distinct outlier from the other platforms, the trimmed mean is used for the plot. Next, the deviation from the mean is calculated for each platform, and the fractional deviation was plotted against the mean scaled expression.Fluidigm Dynamic Array Quantitative PCRSamples were analyzed by real-time PCR according to the manufacturer’s instructions for the Fluidigm dynamic array (South San Francisco, CA). All PCR amplification reagents were purchased from Applied Biosystems, Inc. (Foster City, CA). Briefly, 50 ng of total RNA was reverse transcribed in a 15 ml reaction mixture containing 0.2 ml of 100 nM dNTP, 0.2 ml of RNase inhibitor 20 U/ml, 1.5 ml of reverse transcriptase (50 U/Multi-Platform Analysis of MicroRNA ExpressionAffymetrix. Raw data for cross-platform comparisons was extracted without normalization by using the miRNA QC Tool (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA). For the purpose of this study, the 847 human miRNA transcripts that are interrogated on Affymetrix miRNA Array 1.0 (miRBase 11.0) were analyzed. Signal intensities with p,0.06 were considered to be detected. Illumina. Data were extracted without background subtraction or normalization in a Sample Probe Profile format by using BeadStudio v3.4 (Illumina). The vendor provided miRNA detection threshold was p,0.05. For this platform, 858 miRNA transcripts were interrogated and available for detection. Agilent. Data was 24195657 extracted using Agilent Feature Extraction Software v9.5 (Santa Clara, CA). Transcripts detectable by the Agilent platform had a standard error of three times the background. There were 719 miRNAs detectable on this platform. NanoString. Raw data was normalized using internal positive spike controls to account for variability in the hybridization process. The data was further normalized to the average counts of all endogenous miRNAs in each lane to account for any variability in the sample input. MiRNA detection was determined using a metric that yields a detection call at a confidence level of 95 (p,0.05). This detection measure identifies all miRNAs in which the count of the miRNA is two standard deviations above the average of negative spike probes. This platform interrogated 654 miRNA targets. miRNA-Seq. The sequence reads from the Illumina Genome Analyzers were aligned using the Efficient Large-Scale Alignment of Nucleotide Databases (ELAND) algorithm. The Flicker (Illumina) tool was used for processing and initial analysis of miRNA sequencing data including the following steps: 1) trimming the known Illumina adaptor from the reads and exclusion of reads smaller than 15 bp. 2) Alignment of trimm.