title: Potential role of maternal serum microRNAs as a biomarker for fetal congenital heart defects.
abstract: Congenital heart defects (CHD) are the most common form of major birth defect, affecting almost 1% of live births. These defects place a significant economic burden on the National Health Service and on the psychological wellbeing of affected families. The early screening and identification of neonates with CHD could reduce morbidity and mortality by allowing proactive medical treatment and parental counseling about options during pregnancy, including termination. Fetal echocardiography is the principal screening tool for the identification of CHD, but its accuracy mainly depends on the skill and experience of the operator. Various biomarkers of screening for fetal CHD are currently available, such as nuchal translucency (NT), β-hCG and PAPP-A; however, these are non-specific indexes with high incidences of false positive results. Certain specific microRNAs (miRNAs) of cardiogenesis have been identified, which correlate positively with placental miRNA expression. These miRNAs of placental origin can be detected in maternal peripheral blood. Therefore, we postulate that these maternal serum miRNAs may be a potential biomarker for fetal CHD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Nanjing Maternal and Child Health Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210004, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhangbin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Shuping
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Chun
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Xuejie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Lingmei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Xirong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood*; D048208:Nuchal Translucency Measurement / Q000379:methods; D011247:Pregnancy; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018997:Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human; D035683:MicroRNAs; D011266:Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A