Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 16, 2026
MicroRNA Based Liquid Biopsy: The Experience of the Plasma miRNA Signature Classifier MSC for Lung Cancer Screening
Published on: October 26, 2017
Pregnancy-associated microRNAs in plasma as potential molecular markers of ectopic pregnancy
Kiyonori Miura1, Ai Higashijima1, Hiroyuki Mishima1
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
Objective:
To investigate cell-free pregnancy-associated microRNAs as molecular markers for the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy.
Design:
Laboratory study using human plasma samples.
Setting:
Research unit in a university hospital.
Patient(S):
Plasma samples from 18 women with ectopic pregnancies (EP group), 12 women with spontaneous abortion (SA group), and 26 normal women with singleton pregnancies (NP group).
Intervention(S):
Total RNAs containing small RNA molecules extracted from 1.2 mL of plasma.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
Plasma concentrations of cell-free microRNAs measured by quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
Result(S):
Plasma concentrations of cell-free pregnancy-associated microRNAs (miR-323-3p, miR-515-3p, miR-517a, miR-517c, and miR-518b) and serum concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were confirmed to have statistically significantly different plasma or serum concentrations in women with EP, SA, or NP. There was no statistically significant difference in the plasma concentrations of cell-free miR-21 between the three groups. By correlation coefficient analysis, no relationship was detected between serum hCG levels and plasma cell-free miR-517c, miR-515-3p, miR-517a, miR-518b, miR-323-3p, or miR-21 levels. Plasma concentrations of cell-free miR-517a could distinguish EP/SA from NP, yielding an area under the curve of 0.9654 (95% confidence interval, 0.9172-1.0). Plasma concentrations of cell-free miR-323-3p could distinguish EP from SA, yielding an area under the curve of 0.7454 (95% confidence interval, 0.5558-0.9349).
Conclusion(S):
Cell-free pregnancy-associated microRNAs have potential as molecular markers of ectopic pregnancy.
More Related Videos
05:31Author Spotlight: Modeling an Aspect of Preeclampsia in Female Mice Using Hypoxic Human Placenta-Derived Small Extracellular Vesicles
Published on: January 26, 2024
09:40Author Spotlight: Unveiling the Role of TMOD3 in Platinum Resistance and Immune Infiltration in Ovarian Cancer
Published on: August 2, 2024