title: Pregnancy-associated microRNAs in plasma as potential molecular markers of ectopic pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate cell-free pregnancy-associated microRNAs as molecular markers for the diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Laboratory study using human plasma samples.
  
  
  METHODS
  Research unit in a university hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma samples from 18 women with ectopic pregnancies (EP group), 12 women with spontaneous abortion (SA group), and 26 normal women with singleton pregnancies (NP group).
  
  
  METHODS
  Total RNAs containing small RNA molecules extracted from 1.2 mL of plasma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Plasma concentrations of cell-free microRNAs measured by quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Plasma concentrations of cell-free pregnancy-associated microRNAs (miR-323-3p, miR-515-3p, miR-517a, miR-517c, and miR-518b) and serum concentration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were confirmed to have statistically significantly different plasma or serum concentrations in women with EP, SA, or NP. There was no statistically significant difference in the plasma concentrations of cell-free miR-21 between the three groups. By correlation coefficient analysis, no relationship was detected between serum hCG levels and plasma cell-free miR-517c, miR-515-3p, miR-517a, miR-518b, miR-323-3p, or miR-21 levels. Plasma concentrations of cell-free miR-517a could distinguish EP/SA from NP, yielding an area under the curve of 0.9654 (95% confidence interval, 0.9172-1.0). Plasma concentrations of cell-free miR-323-3p could distinguish EP from SA, yielding an area under the curve of 0.7454 (95% confidence interval, 0.5558-0.9349).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cell-free pregnancy-associated microRNAs have potential as molecular markers of ectopic pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan. Electronic address: kiyonori@nagasaki-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kiyonori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Ai
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Higashijima
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mishima
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Shoko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Miura
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Michio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitajima
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaneuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Koh-Ichiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshiura
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masuzaki
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D011271:Pregnancy, Ectopic / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics*; D012372:ROC Curve; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: Biomarker; ectopic pregnancy; plasma; pregnancy-associated microRNA