Investigation of the relationship between expression patterns of plasma microRNAs and pregnancy complications

The aim of the study was to determine the association between plasma expression levels of microRNAs (miRNAs; MIR126-3p; and MIR375-3p) and pregnancy complications.

This prospective study included 39 pregnant women who admitted to Obstetrics and Gynecology Polyclinic of Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University, Faculty of Medicine. 28 of these pregnant women were healthy, while 11 had pregnancy complications (five hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and six gestational diabetes). Hypertensive disorders include preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and chronic hypertension. The study included pregnant women older than 18 years of age with singleton pregnancies and no history of cancer. Quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction was used to determine the expression patterns of MIR126-3p and MIR375-3p in maternal plasma. Fold change (2-ΔΔCt) analysis was used to examine the microRNA expression patterns.

MIR375-3p expression levels demonstrated a statistically significant difference between two groups. It was significantly lower in women with pregnancy complications than healthy pregnant women.

We found that MIR375-3p might be a useful indicator for non-invasive diagnosis and play a crucial part in predicting pregnancy complications. Given the limited patient cohort, more research using bigger samples is required to validate our findings.