Mid-pregnancy maternal blood nitric oxide-related gene and miRNA expression are associated with preterm birth

Lay abstract Aim: We sought to measure whether changes in RNA in mother's blood in early pregnancy are predictive of early delivery. Patients & methods: This was a study of 136 pregnant women who had their blood drawn before 28 weeks of pregnancy. We measured changes in RNA in genes related to inflammation, and then compared these changes between women who delivered preterm and those who delivered full term. Results: Several genes differed between women who delivered preterm and those who delivered full term. When we combined genetic and clinical information, we were more accurately able to predict which mothers would deliver preterm and which mothers would deliver at full term, compared with using only clinical information. Conclusion: Using both genetic information from mother's blood in early pregnancy and clinical information might help identify which women will deliver too soon. Aim: The nitric oxide (NO) pathway modulates inflammation and may influence birth timing. Patients & methods: Case-control analysis of 136 pregnant women with RNA obtained <28 weeks; n = 212 mRNAs and n = 108 miRNAs in the NO pathway were evaluated. NO-pathway mRNA and miRNA transcript counts in women delivering preterm versus at term were compared, miRNA-mRNA expression levels correlated and prediction models generated. Results: Fourteen genes were differentially expressed in women delivering <37 weeks; 13/14 were also differentially expressed in those delivering <34 weeks (q <0.10) versus term births. Multiple miRNA-mRNA pairs were correlated. Models with gene expression better predicted prematurity than models with only clinical or nongenomic predictors. Conclusion: Maternal blood NO pathway-related mRNA and miRNA expression is associated with prematurity.

Automated summary

This study found a link between changes in RNA in mother's blood in early pregnancy and preterm delivery, with combining genetic and clinical information leading to more accurate prediction of premature birth risk.