Methylation-based epigenetic studies and gene integration analysis of preeclampsia

Preeclampsia (PE) is a multi-factor and multi-mechanism disease, which may jeopardize the life safety of affected pregnant women and fetuses. Our study aimed to detect the potential molecular indicators of PE that might be helpful for its diagnosis and treatment.

Methylation assay of PE and normal pregnancies placental biopsies was analyzed using the Illumina Human Methylation-27 Assay. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were analyzed using R-DESeq2 software. Subsequently, the relationship between DNA methylation genes and DEGs were evaluated. Furthermore, immunohistochemical (IHC) and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) validation analyses were conducted for the hub genes.

These hub genes (including PLXNB1, PMCH, PPARG, GOPC, CD79A, and MME) were found to be differentially methylated genes and DEGs. Further analysis revealed that PPARG, CD79A, and PLXNB1 may be diagnostic gene markers for PE; down-regulation of PPARG expression was closely correlated with the development of PE. The IHC analysis demonstrated that the expression levels of PLXNB1, PMCH, GOPC, CD79A, and MME genes were increased, whereas that of PPARG was decreased in PE tissues. The PCR results showed that PLXNB1, PMCH, GOPC, CD79a, and MME were upregulated, whereas PPARG was downregulated. The results of the 2 experiments were consistent with those of bioinformatics analysis.

The molecular indicators identified in this study could facilitate the development of potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for PE.