Abortive Transcripts can be Used as Plasma Biomarkers of Acute Liver Injury

Abortive transcripts (ATs) refer to short nascent RNA released by RNA polymerase before the synthesis of productive RNA. Compared with productive RNAs, AT has the characteristics of low molecular weight (2–10 nt), wide variety, and abundant content, making it a potential biomarkers. Here, the base stacking hybridization assisted ligation (BSHAL) technique and TaqMan-MGB qPCR were be used to analysis the plasma levels of fourteen 8 nt ATs in normal and acute liver injury mice. It was found that all these ATs were detectable, with six showing significant differences between mouse groups, demonstrating that ATs are promising biomarkers in plasma.