Role of hsa-miR-325 in the etiopathology of preeclampsia.

Preeclampsia (PE) is a common pregnancy-specific syndrome characterized by hypertension and proteinuria. Evidence has demonstrated that hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are associated with alterations in the expression of different microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are endogenously expressed non-coding RNAs that have significant biological and pathological functions due to their potential mechanisms of regulation of gene expression. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the expression of hsa-miR-325 in placental samples of preeclamptic and uncomplicated pregnancy patients. hsa-miR-325 was isolated from placenta tissue samples obtained from 31 preeclamptic and 28 normotensive pregnant females. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze miRNA expression. The expression of hsa-miR‑325 was elevated in uncomplicated pregnancies compared with preeclamptic patients. ΔCt (mean±SD) values were 0.117±0.07 in PE tissues and 0.135±0.051 in normotensive cases (p<0.05). The expression levels correlated with patient blood pressure (p=0.015, r=-0.23), and tended to correlate with body mass index (p=0.065, r=0.261). The expression of hsa-miR-325 was downregulated in the case of PE. Changes in hsa-miR‑325 expression in the case of pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders might affect the oxidative stress pathways and heat-shock protein production. These factors have a strong correlation with the development of PE. We, therefore, suggest that hsa-miR-325 contributes to the pathogenesis of PE.