Expression profiles of miRNA -369-5p and miRNA-671-3p in the plasma of pregnant women with polycystic ovary syndrome versus normal pregnancies

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) exhibit increased risk of pregnancy complications (1). MicroRNA-369-5p (miRNA) and miR-671-3p were associated with adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells (2), diabetes (3) and insulin secretion (4, 5). The aim was to determine if there are differences in expression levels of miR-369-5p and miR-671-3p in the cell free plasma samples between pregnant women with PCOS and healthy controls. A pilot prospective cohort study. Singleton and spontaneous pregnancies were enrolled this study. Usingreal-time quantitative PCR, the expression level of miR -369-5p and miR-671-3p in the plasma were analyzed in pregnant women with PCOS were diagnosed before pregnancy according to the Rotterdam criteria, and had no obstetrical or medical complications (n=14) compared to healthy pregnant women (n=12). The relative expression of the target miRNAs in samples was compared to the calibrator and the results were expressed as relative quantification (RQ) values. The characteristics of patients are listed in (Table 1). The expression levels of miR-671-3p were significantly increased in the pregnant patients with PCOS (RQ value= 5.53±2.98) versus healthy controls (RQ value= 1.20±0.64) (p=0.0001). Onreceiving operator characteristic analysis, areas under the curve of the expression ratio of miR-671-3p in PCOS was 0.96 (95%CI: 0.88-1.00). At a cut-off value of 1.89 for this miRNA, sensitivity and specificity values were 92% and 93%, respectively. There was no difference in the expression levels of miR-369-5p between PCOS and controls. Our results indicated miR-671-3p has a candidate for diagnosis for PCOS and could be a potential biomarker during pregnancy.Table 1Patient demographics, clinical and biochemical characteristicsIndex CharacteristicsPCOS (n=14)Mean ± SDControl Group (n=12)Mean ± SDP valueAge (years)29.6 ± 4.3426.6 ± 4.90.561Gestational age at sampling (weeks)29.1 ± 5.128.9 ± 0.2< 0.0001Pre-PregnancyBMI, kg/m228.3 ± 6.123.6 ± 2.9< 0.0001BMI (kg/m2)31.2 ± 5.726.4 ± 2.90.004Systolic blood pressure at sampling (mmHg)106.4 ± 10.1101.7 ± 5.80.028Diastolic blood pressure at sampling (mmHg)62.8 ± 7.360.0 ± 6.00.106HbA1c (%)5.3 ± 0.25.1 ± 0.30.844Fasting glucose (mg/dl) at sampling76.0 ± 9.175.9 ± 8.70.6701-h glucose (mg/dl) at sampling following a 75-g OGTT139.7 ± 27.5122.7 ± 28.90.9522-h glucose (mg/dl) at sampling following a 75-g OGTT108.0 ± 24.497.5 ± 19.00.386PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome; SD, standard deviation; BMI, body mass index; GA, gestational age; OGTT, oral glucose tolerance test Data presented as mean ± SD and compared using unpaired t-test *p < 0.05. Open table in a new tab