The association of polymorphisms in promoter region of MMP2 and MMP9 with recurrent spontaneous abortion risk in Chinese population

Identification of hub genes in placental dysfunction and recurrent pregnancy loss through transcriptome data mining: A meta-analysis

Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a condition characterized by the loss of two or more pregnancies before 20 weeks of gestation. The causes of RPL are complex and can be due to a variety of factors, including genetic, immunological, hormonal, and environmental factors. This transcriptome data mining study was done to explore the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and related pathways responsible for pathogenesis of RPL using an Insilco approach. RNAseq datasets from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database was used to extract RNAseq datasets of RPL. Meta-analysis was done by ExpressAnalyst. The functional and pathway enrichment analysis of DEGs were performed using KEGG and BINGO plugin of Cytoscape software. Protein-protein interaction was done using STRING and hub genes were identified. A total of 91 DEGs were identified, out of which 10 were downregulated and 81 were upregulated. Pathway analysis indicated that majority of DEGs were enriched in immunological pathways (IL-17 signalling pathway, TLR-signalling pathway, autoimmune thyroid disease), angiogenic VEGF-signalling pathway and cell-cycle signalling pathways. Of these, 10 hub genes with high connectivity were selected (CXCL8, CCND1, FOS, PTGS2, CTLA4, THBS1, MMP2, KDR, and CD80). Most of these genes are involved in maintenance of immune response at maternal-fetal interface. Further, in functional enrichment analyses revealed the highest node size in regulation of biological processes followed by cellular processes, their regulation and regulation of multicellular organismal process. This in-silico transcriptomics meta-analysis findings could potentially contribute in identifying novel biomarkers and therapeutic targets for RPL, which could lead to the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for this condition.

T Cell Subsets and the Expression of Related MicroRNAs in Patients with Recurrent Early Pregnancy Loss

This study explored the role of T cell subsets and the expression of related microRNAs in patients with recurrent early pregnancy loss (EPL). Fifty patients with EPL loss between May 2018 and May 2021 were randomly selected as the EPL group, and 50 pregnant women with normal pregnancies or normal delivery outcomes were randomly selected as the control group. The expression levels of T cell subset-related markers and T cell subset-related miRNAs, in addition to the frequencies of T cell subsets, in peripheral blood of the two groups were analyzed. In terms of T cell-related markers, the results showed that the expression levels of the transcriptional regulator TBX-21 (T-bet) and interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4) were significantly upregulated in peripheral blood of the patients in the EPL group ( $P<0.05$ ), whereas the expression levels of GATA binding protein 3 (GATA3) and glucocorticoid-induced tumor necrosis factor receptor (GITR) were significantly downregulated ( $P<0.05$ ). In the EPL group, the expression of mir-106b, mir-93, and mir-25 was upregulated ( $1.51\pm 0.129$ , $1.43\pm 0.132$ , and $1.73\pm 0.156$ , respectively) in regulatory T (Treg) cell-related T cell subsets, whereas the expression of miR-146a and miR-155 was downregulated ( $P<0.05$ ). The frequencies of Treg and exhausted T cells in the EPL group were significantly lower than those in the control group ( $P<0.05$ ). The cell frequencies of T helper 17 (Th17) cells and exhausted Treg cells in the EPL group were significantly higher than those in the control group ( $P<0.05$ ). In conclusion, immune cells and associated miRNA profiles can be used as prognostic biomarkers for the treatment of human reproductive disorders, such as EPL.

Role of polymorphisms on the Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: A systematic review, Meta-analysis and bioinformatic analysis

Recurrent miscarriage (RM) is a major reproductive health issue. RM is a multi-factorial disease, and is affected by environmental, genetic, and epigenetic factors. Genetics has a common role in recurrent miscarriage occurrence. It seems that molecular genetics has a great role in RSA incidence. So, in these years, RM has become for a major subject of genetics research. There are many genes that are involved in each phase for successful reproduction. This research aimed to evaluate the effect of all studied polymorphisms in studies on RSA that have not been included in any meta-analysis. PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were recruited to investigate the related articles. The systematic review results identified 143 studies worldwide. Thirteen genes have been included in assessing the case-control studies. Sixty-four SNPs were recruited to assess the association between genetic factors and RSA susceptibility. Ninety-two studies containing twenty two SNPs (from 10 genes) were included in the quantitative analysis. Bioinformatic analysis indicated that rs12722482 showed "Damaging Status" by double servers, and rs315952 and rs854560 had "Possibly damaging" status in the PolyPhen-2 server. MethPrimer server indicated that there is "CpG Island" in the rs10895068, rs1130355, and rs41557518 variants, and rs10895068-G allele makes a CpG dinucleotide which can change the gene methylation and result in altering the gene expression. So, further studies on rs12722482 and rs10895068 can demonstrate valuable results. To the best of our knowledge, this systematic review has covered the all studied polymorphisms of HLA-C, HLA-G, PON1, AGTR1, TAFI, FAS, FAS-L, ESR1, PGR, CTLA-4, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9, and IL1RN for the first time. Also, we did a novel meta-analysis for AGTR1 rs5186, TAFI rs1926447, rs3742264, HLA-G rs1063320, rs1233334, rs1736936, rs2249863, PON1 rs662, rs854560, FAS rs2234767, rs1800682, FAS-L rs763110, ESR1, rs9340799, rs3798759, PGR rs1042838, CTLA4 rs4553808, rs5742909, rs231775, rs3087243, and MMP-2 rs243865 and updated statistical finding for rs2234693 and rs371194629. Rs2234693, rs9340799, rs231775, and rs371194629 demonstrated a significant association with RSA risk. Some variations showed significant association, while further studies are suggested to confirm the results. Finally, Rs4553808 and rs5742909 revealed no significant deviation in the results. It is suggested that these SNPs may be excluded from subsequent case-control studies or other analyses.

Association of MMP-2, MMP-3, and MMP-9 Polymorphisms with Susceptibility to Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

Genetic causes that contribute to recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) are not fully understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of five polymorphisms at MMP-2, MMP-3, and MMP-9 genes with risk of RPL. Methods: The study comprised 250 women with RPL and 250 healthy controls. The MMP-2 (rs243865, rs2285053), MMP-3 (rs35068180), and MMP 9 (rs3918242, rs17576) polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay. Results: A significant association was found between MMP-3 rs35068180 polymorphism and RPL risk. There was no significant association between RPL and polymorphisms at MMP-2 (rs243865, rs2285053) and MMP 9 (rs3918242, rs17576) genes. Conclusion: MMP-3 rs35068180 polymorphism may modulate RPL risk in Iranian women. There is no evidence to suggest that MMP-2 (rs243865, rs2285053) and MMP 9 (rs3918242, rs17576) polymorphisms are associated with RPL risk.

Genetic variants of HOTAIR are associated with susceptibility to recurrent spontaneous abortion: A preliminary case-control study

AIM

To investigate the association between Hox transcript antisenses RNA (HOTAIR) polymorphisms, rs12826786 C/T, rs920778 T/C, rs4759314 A/G, and rs1899663 G/T, with recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) susceptibility in the Iranian women.

METHODS

We enrolled 161 patients diagnosed with RSA and 177 healthy women with at least one live birth without a history of abortion. Genotyping of HOTAIR polymorphisms was carried out using both restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction and amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction methods. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were assessed to estimate the strength of association.

RESULTS

Different inheritance models of rs12826786 C/T, rs920778 T/C, and rs1899663 G/T polymorphisms significantly enhanced the risk of RSA (p < 0.05), whereas the rs4759314 A/G polymorphism was correlated with diminished risk of developing RSA under recessive AA versus GA + GG (OR 0.42 [95% CI = 0.19-0.91]), log-additive GG versus GA vs. GG (OR 0.67 [95% CI = 0.48-0.93]), and allelic A versus G (OR 0.65 [95% CI = 0.47-0.92]) models. Moreover, the TGTC, TTCT, TTTC, CGTC, CGTT, CTCC, CTCT, CTTC, and CTTT haplotypes of rs920778/rs1899663/rs12826786/ significantly increased the risk of RSA. The studied variants were not in strong linkage disequilibrium.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results indicated that variations in the HOTAIR gene might serve as beneficial biomarkers for determining susceptibility to RSA. To confirm these findings, replication studies with a larger population and different races are needed.

IL-6: An endogenous activator of MMP-9 in preterm birth

Preterm birth or PTB (<37 weeks) is a heterogeneous phenotype with numerous biological pathways. The lack of explanation due to complex pathways, inconsistent observations indicates the need for employing the role of genetic determinants to anticipate the danger of PTB. In this present study, we investigated the possible gene-gene interaction of five SNPs with PTB and its association with total MMP-9 levels. A total of 510 recruitments (250 terms and preterm each) were made and were genotyped by Restriction Fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Generalized Multifactor Dimensionality Reduction (GMDR) method was carried out for determining gene-gene interaction. ANOVA and t-test were used to identify the association of IL-6 polymorphism with PTB alone and correspondingly with PTB and low birth weight infants (i.e. < 2500 kg). The combination of IL-6 and MMP-9 and MMP-1, MMP-8 and MMP-9 polymorphism was selected through GMDR analysis concerning mothers with preterm and term birth (accuracy 0.5921 and 0.8030 with Cross-Validation Consistency (CVC) 10/10 respectively). Increased expression of MMP-9 was reported in cases in those mothers carrying IL-6 G allele, which was profoundly associated with PTB independently. IL-6 polymorphisms showed synergistic effects in terms of increased total MMP-9 levels in the present study.

Association between the rs2288947 polymorphism of the lncRNA TINCR gene and the risk of recurrent miscarriage in a Southern Chinese population

Studies have shown that many genes that regulate cell migration are associated with susceptibility to recurrent miscarriage. Terminal differentiation-induced non-coding RNA (TINCR) regulates the migration and invasion of a variety of tumor cells and is associated with susceptibility to various diseases. However, whether the lncRNA TINCR polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to recurrent miscarriage is unclear. Therefore, we investigated the relationship between the rs2288947 A > G polymorphism of the lncRNA TINCR and susceptibility to recurrent abortion. We recruited 248 recurrent spontaneous abortion patients and 392 healthy control subjects from the Southern Chinese population and used the TaqMan method for genotyping. There was no evidence that this polymorphism is associated with recurrent miscarriage (AG vs AA: adjusted OR = 0.904, 95% CI = 0.647-1.264, P = 0.5552; GG and AA: adjusted OR = 0.871, 95% CI = 0.475-1.597, P = 0.6542; dominant model: AG/GG vs AA: adjusted OR = 0.898, 95% CI = 0.653-1.236, P = 0.5101; and recessive model: GG vs AA/AG: adjusted OR = 0.910, 95% CI = 0.505-1.639, P = 0.7527). The stratified analysis also showed no significant associations. This study suggests that the rs2288947 A > G polymorphism of the lncRNA TINCR may not be associated with recurrent miscarriage in a Southern Chinese population. A larger multicenter study is needed to confirm our conclusions.