Early first trimester peripheral blood cell microRNA predicts risk of preterm delivery in pregnant women: Proof of concept

OBJECTIVE We investigated the capacity of first trimester peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) microRNA to determine risk of spontaneous preterm birth among pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN The study included 39 pregnant women with the following delivery outcomes: 25 with a full term delivery (38-42 weeks gestation) 14 with spontaneous preterm birth (<38 weeks gestation). Of the 14 women experiencing spontaneous preterm birth, 7 delivered at 34-<38 weeks gestation (late preterm) and 7 delivered at <34 weeks gestation (early preterm). Samples were collected at a mean of 7.9±3.0 weeks gestation. Quantitative rtPCR was performed on 30 selected microRNAs. MicroRNA Risk Scores were calculated and Area-Under the Curve-Receiver-Operational-Characteristic (AUC-ROC) curves derived. RESULTS The AUC-ROC for the group delivering preterm (<38 weeks) was 0.95 (p>0.0001). The AUC-ROC for early preterm group (<34 weeks) was 0.98 (p<0.0001) and the AUC-ROC for the late preterm group (34-<38 weeks) was 0.92 (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION Quantification of first trimester peripheral blood PBMC MicroRNA may provide sensitive and specific prediction of spontaneous preterm birth in pregnant women. Larger studies are needed for confirmation.