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

Abstract

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 <28weeks; 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 <37weeks; 13/14 were also differentially expressed in those delivering <34weeks (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.