MiR-4421 regulates the progression of preeclampsia by regulating CYP11B2.

Abstract

Preeclampsia is a serious disease that affects maternal and fetal health in pregnancy. Mechanism of miRNA in preeclampsia has gradually been explored. This study mainly investigated the mechanism of miR-4421 in preeclampsia. The expression of miR-4421 in 42 preeclampsia tissues and 42 normal pregnancy placentas tissues was detected by qRT-PCR. The relationship between the miR-4421 level and clinicopathological features of preeclampsia was analyzed. After miR-4421 was overexpressed, cell proliferation, cell cycle, and apoptosis were examined. The target gene CYP11B2 of miR-4421 was detected by luciferase reporter assay. The protein expressions were accessed by Western blot. miR-4421 was highly expressed in the placenta of preeclampsia. Clinical data analysis revealed higher systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and urinary protein level in preeclampsia patients with high expression of miR-4421 compared with those in low expression group. Birth weight of fetuses was significantly lower than those born from normal pregnant women. After overexpression of miR-4421, trophoblast proliferation was significantly inhibited and cell cycle was significantly blocked. Luciferase reporter assay and Western blot showed that CYP11B2 can be served as a target gene of miR-4421. MiR-4421 was highly expressed in preeclampsia, which may promote the progression of preeclampsia by down-regulating the expression of CYP11B2.