Circulating MALAT1 in Preeclampsia and Association With Cardiometabolic Risk

Preeclampsia is a hypertensive disorder affecting 2% to 8% of pregnancies. Women with a history of preeclampsia have an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The long noncoding RNA MALAT1 is shown to regulate inflammatory responses linked to cardiovascular disease. MALAT1 is decreased in preeclampsia placentas and may have a cis-regulatory function on neighboring RNAs.

Expression of MALAT1, NEAT1, mascRNA, SCYL1, and FRMD8 was assessed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and MALAT1 in plasma and extracellular vesicles, at 22 to 24 and 36 to 38 weeks of gestation in healthy (n=214) and preeclampsia (n=37) women from the STORK cohort study (STORe barn og Komplikasjoner, translated as Large Babies and Complications) and at 5-year follow-up in women with and without history of preeclampsia (n=29; n=271). We investigated their associations with established markers of disease activity and later cardiometabolic risk. MALAT1 was silenced in lipopolysaccharide-stimulated THP-1 differentiated macrophages in vitro.

MALAT1, NEAT1, mascRNA, and FRMD8 are decreased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells during preeclampsia development. At follow-up in women with a previous preeclampsia diagnosis, MALAT1 and NEAT1 are decreased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and show associations with cardiometabolic markers. Silencing MALAT1 in macrophages increased secretion of IL (interleukin)-6 and reduced MMP9 (matrix metalloproteinase-9) and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) A levels.

Given the association of MALAT1 and neighboring RNAs with preeclampsia during pregnancy and at follow-up, as well as with cardiometabolic markers and results from silencing experiments, these transcripts may be potential targets for preeclampsia development and cardiometabolic risk in women with previous preeclampsia.