Underexpression of 4 placenta-associated microRNAs in complete hydatidiform moles.
OBJECTIVE
Several placental microRNAs (miRNAs) have been identified as placenta-associated miRNAs with the potential of estimating the condition of the placenta. However, our understanding of these miRNAs is limited. The aim of this study was to determine the expression of 8 placenta-associated miRNAs (miR-512-3p, miR-517a, miR-517b, miR-518b, miR-519a, miR-1185, miR-1283, and miR-1323) in complete hydatidiform mole (CHM).


METHODS
Samples were obtained from patients with CHM (CHM group, n = 12) and elective terminations of normal pregnancy (control group, n = 20). We detected differentially expressed placenta-associated miRNAs in placenta by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis. Subsequently, we assessed the expression location of differentially expressed miRNAs by in situ hybridization analysis.


RESULTS
Four placenta-associated miRNAs (miR-517a, miR-517b, miR-518b, and miR-519a) were underexpressed in the CHM group, compared with the control group (P < 0.01). When further investigating these 4 miRNAs with regard to in vivo localization by in situ hybridization, we found that 2 miRNAs (miR-517b and miR-518b) were detected exclusively in the trophoblast layer, with little signal (if any) observed in villous stroma cells.


CONCLUSIONS
The results show that 4 miRNAs (miR-517a, miR-517b, miR-518b, and miR-519a) are deregulated in CHM, which suggests the involvement of these miRNAs in the functions of CHM placenta.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Affiliated Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, People's Republic of China.
Quan
Q
Na
Dan
D
Wang
Weiwei
W
Song
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006828:Hydatidiform Mole / Q000378:metabolism*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000378:metabolism*
D035683:MicroRNAs