The Landscape of MicroRNA, Piwi-Interacting RNA, and Circular RNA in Human Saliva

Extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) in human body fluids are emerging as effective biomarkers for detection of diseases. Saliva, as the most accessible and noninvasive body fluid, has been shown to harbor exRNA biomarkers for several human diseases. However, the entire spectrum of exRNA from saliva has not been fully characterized.

Using high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), we conducted an in-depth bioinformatic analysis of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in human cell-free saliva (CFS) from healthy individuals, with a focus on microRNAs (miRNAs), piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), and circular RNAs (circRNAs).