Placenta
Volume 31, Issue 9 , Pages 781-784, September 2010

The levels of hypoxia-regulated microRNAs in plasma of pregnant women with fetal growth restriction

  • J.-F. Mouillet

      Affiliations

    • Magee-Womens Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
    • ,
  • T. Chu

      Affiliations

    • Magee-Womens Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
    • ,
  • C.A. Hubel

      Affiliations

    • Magee-Womens Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
    • ,
  • D.M. Nelson

      Affiliations

    • Department of OBGYN, Washington University in St. Louis, USA
    • ,
  • W.T. Parks

      Affiliations

    • Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
    • ,
  • Y. Sadovsky

      Affiliations

    • Magee-Womens Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
    • Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author. Magee-Womens Research Institute, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 204 Craft Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. Tel.: +1 412 641 2675; fax: +1 412 641 3898.

Accepted 2 July 2010. published online 30 July 2010.

Abstract 

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. While mostly intracellular, a portion of cellular miRNAs is released to the circulation and their level in the plasma is altered in certain pathological conditions such as cancer, and also during pregnancy. We examined the circulating levels of a set of trophoblastic miRNAs, which we recently found to be regulated by hypoxia, in the plasma of pregnant women with fetal growth restriction (FGR). Pregnancy was associated with increased plasma levels of several placenta-specific miRNAs, compared to non-pregnant controls. Among pregnant women, the overall levels of miRNA species that we analyzed were increased by 1.84-fold (p ≤ 0.01) in plasma of women with pregnancies complicated by FGR, but decreased in FGR placentas by 24% (p ≤ 0.01) compared to values from uncomplicated pregnancies. Together, our results show that plasma concentration of miRNAs is regulated in pregnancy, and that FGR is associated with increased circulating miRNA levels, highlighting the need to explore plasma miRNAs as potential biomarkers for placental diseases.

Keywords: Trophoblast, Fetal growth restriction, Hypoxia, Plasma, microRNA

 

PII: S0143-4004(10)00261-4

doi:10.1016/j.placenta.2010.07.001

Placenta
Volume 31, Issue 9 , Pages 781-784, September 2010

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