Identification of microRNA signatures in umbilical cord blood associated with maternal characteristics

• Published in: PeerJ (San Francisco, CA) CA), 2019-05, Vol.7, p.e6981, Article e6981
• Main Authors: Juracek, Jaroslav, Piler, Pavel, Janku, Petr, Radova, Lenka, Slaby, Ondrej
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Allergies; Allergy; Analysis; Asphyxia neonatorum; Biological markers; Biomarkers; Birth weight; Body fluids; Body weight gain; Childbirth & labor; Children; Cigarette smoking; Cord blood; Criminal investigation; Developmental Biology; Drug abuse; EDTA; Epidemiology; Fetuses; Gene expression; Genomes; Genomics; Gynecology and Obstetrics; Hypoxia; Maternal characteristics; Medical screening; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs; miRNA; Mothers; Neonates; Newborn babies; Newborn infants; Physiological aspects; Physiology; Pregnancy; Pregnancy complications; Pregnant women; Premature birth; Respiratory distress syndrome; Rh factor; Sepsis; Smoking; Statistical analysis; Stem cells; Studies; Substance abuse; Umbilical cord; Umbilical cord blood; Values; Women’s Health
• ISSN: 2167-8359; 2167-8359
• DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6981

Umbilical cord blood could serve as useful source of blood markers enabling more efficient and reliable prenatal and neonatal diagnostics. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are ubiquitous in body fluids where they were used for detecting and monitoring various physiological and pathological conditions. In this descriptive study, we aimed to identify changes in miRNA expression profiles associated with basic maternal somatic and epidemiological characteristics. Study is based on 24 mothers from the Pilot phase of CELSPAC: TNG (Central European Longitudinal Studies of Parents and Children: The Next Generation) study. Cord blood was collected at time of delivery and global miRNA profiling was performed using microRNA Ready-to-use PCR Human Panel I+II TaqMan microarrays. Expression profiles were statistically evaluated in relation to maternal age, BMI, pregnancy weight gain, blood type, Rh factor status, allergies during pregnancy, addictive substance abuse and smoking status. We analyzed expression of 752 human mature miRNAs in 24 samples of umbilical cord blood. For all maternal characteristics tested we described a specific signature of significantly deregulated miRNAs (   25) and nine miRNAs associated with maternal weight gain during pregnancy (eight miRNAs increased, and one miRNA decreased in women with weight gain < 12 kg). Additionally, 17 miRNAs correlated to blood type (two miRNAs decreased in blood type A, 11 increased in blood type B, two miRNAs increased in blood type AB and two miRNAs increased in blood type 0) and 17 miRNAs to Rh status of mother. We also detected seven miRNAs deregulated in umbilical cord blood of women with allergy (four increased and three decreased in women with allergy), four miRNAs associated to addictive substance abuse status (two up- and two downregulated in women with addictive substance abuse) and eight miRNAs associated with maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy. We successfully described differences in miRNA profiles in umbilical cord blood associated with basic characteristics connected with mother. Our data suggest that miRNAs in umbilical cord blood are detectable and associated with a wide range of maternal characteristics. These results indicate that miRNAs could potentially serve,