miR-146b-5p and miR-520h Expressions Are Upregulated in Serum of Women with Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion

Abstract

Unexplained recurrent spontaneous abortion (URSA) is characterized by two or more consecutive pregnancy losses before the 20th week of gestation with unknown etiology. Dysregulation of microRNAs (miRNAs) expression has been reported in reproductive diseases. This study aimed to compare differentially expressed miRNAs in the serum samples between URSA patients and healthy individuals. URSA cases were confirmed by a gynecologist. Peripheral blood sample was‏ gathered from 9 URSA patients, 15 normal pregnant, and 10 non-pregnant women without abortion history. After separating serum, the expression levels of the miR-101-3p, miR-517c-3p, miR-146b-5p, miR-221-3p, and miR-520 h were measured by qRT-PCR assay. The circulating level of miR-520 h in URSA patients was significantly up-regulated compared with healthy pregnant (P < 0.01) and healthy non-pregnant (P = 0.002) women. Furthermore, miR-520 h expression was significantly different between healthy non-pregnant and pregnant women (P = 0.002). Statistical analysis indicated miR-146b-5p expression was significantly up-regulated in URSA patients compared to normal pregnant women (P = 0.018). However, the transcription level of miR-146b-5p was insignificantly different between normal non-pregnant women and the other two groups. Also, circulating levels of miR-101-3p, miR-221-3p, and miR-517c-3p were not significantly different in the studied groups. Statistical analysis showed significant correlations between both miR-221-3p and miR-517c-3p and other miRNAs (P < 0.05). The circulating levels of miR-520 h and miR-146b-5p could be considered biomarkers for URSA diagnosis. Also, miR-517c-3p and miR-221-3p might play a regulatory role in other miRNAs expressions during pregnancy. Previous work, in contrary to our findings, claims that the expression levels of miR-221-3p, miR-101-3p, and miR-517c-3p increased in plasma and tissue samples of patients with URSA. However, our research for the first time indicates that the expression level of miR-520 h and miR-146b-5p in the serum of these patients has increased. Future investigations are necessary to confirm these findings.

Keywords: Abortion; MicroRNA; Pregnancy; Real-time PCR; Recurrent Pregnancy Loss; Serum.