QUANTIFICATION OF VARIED MIRNAS IN EARLY AND LATE-ONSET PREECLAMPSIA COMPLICATING PREGNANCIES IN SOUTH INDIAN WOMEN- A COHORT STUDY

Introduction: Preeclampsia (PE) is a common pregnancy-related hypertensive disorder that may result from abnormal placental development and is a major threat to the mother’s and foetus’s life. Methods: Placental miRNAs (miRNAs) profile was investigated using next-generation sequencing for the identification of potential biomarkers playing a role in aberrant placental development and to understand the pathophysiology(space between ‘the’ and ‘pathophysiology’) of PE. Placental tissues were collected from three patient groups (Control [n = 30], Early Onset of Preeclampsia (EOPE) [n = 30], and Late Onset of Preeclampsia (LOPE) [n = 30]) and performed miRNA profilingby Illumina sequencing, downstream analysis for identification, quantification and expression profiling is done by the quantifier.pl, script, and miRDeep2.pl, script. Results: Sequence analysis showed novel miRNAs that were disease-specific and common among all studied groups, suggesting the underlying placental pathologies in EOPE and LOPE. The real-time PCR analysis of 3 miRNAs (miR4743-5p, miR149-5p, and miR331-5p) was done, and observed differential expression in all three patient groups. MiRNA4743-5p was found to be significantly expressed EOPE when compared to control and LOPE samples. Similarly, the expression of miR331-5p was significant in LOPE samples as compared to other groups, and the expression of miR149-5p was significantly observed in the control group. Conclusion: The integrative expression analysis of these 3 miRNAs has given hope for early diagnosis of PE and associated complications in pregnant women. The study explains for the first time the role of microRNA 4743-5p, 149-5p & 331-5p in early and late-onset preeclampsia.