MIR17HG Gene Polymorphism and the Risk of Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion

Abstract

Background: Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is two or more consecutive pregnancy losses before 20 weeks of gestation. So far the disease is known for a variety of reasons, but still about 50% of recurrent pregnancy losses are unknown. The miRNAs are a family of 20 - 25 nucleotide RNA that inhibit translation of the target gene or mRNA degradation and play a key role in a variety of regulatory pathways. The miRNA is involved in embryonic developments and regulatory disorders which cause numerous diseases including heart diseases and pregnancy-associated disorders. Recent studies suggest that common genetic factors may exist between ischemic heart disease and abortion. Objectives: The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between rs6492538 polymorphism of MIR17HG gene and recurrent spontaneous abortion, which might be clinically useful as a marker to assess risks for recurrent pregnancy loss to provide good health care during pregnancy. Materials and Methods: The case and control groups were studied for the association between polymorphism of MIR17HG and recurrent pregnancy loss in Iranian females. One-hundred patients with recurrent abortions (at least two) as cases and one-hundred healthy female with two or more normal term deliveries and without a history of abortion were selected as controls. Total genomic DNA was isolated from blood leukocytes. SNPs were studied with Alu1 as a restriction enzyme. Results: Results of the present study indicated significant association between rs6492538 polymorphism and recurrent pregnancy loss (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The results of the present study provide evidence for association between genetic variation in MIR17HG and recurrent spontaneous abortion. Further studies will be required to validate the significance of the studied genetic variation in diverse populations and its regulatory role on target genes.