Investigation of miRNA 204-5P as a predictive biomarker in preeclampsia prediction

This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of miR-204-5p in pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia (PE) and to explore its potential role as a non-invasive biomarker for the diagnosis of this pregnancy-related hypertensive disorder. Pregnancies with gestational hypertension (GHT) and normotensive pregnancies were included as comparison groups. Serum samples from 76 participants were analyzed, consisting of 28 with PE, 7 with GHT, and 41 normotensive controls. miR-204-5p gene expressions were calculated by quantitative RT-PCR (Reverse transcription PCR). A considerable variation in miR-204-5p levels was observed among the groups, with the PE group showing significant upregulation compared to normotensive controls (P<0.05). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to assess the diagnostic performance of miR-204-5p expression levels in distinguishing preeclamptic cases from normotensive pregnancies. The diagnostic efficacy of miR-204-5p was quantified by calculating the area under the ROC curve (AUC), which yielded a value of 0.845 substantially exceeding the non-informative threshold of 0.5, with statistical significance (P = 0.001) ROC curve analysis using a 2^−ΔΔCt threshold of 10.7 for miR-204-5p expression demonstrated a sensitivity of 85.7% and a specificity of 74.4% in the identification of preeclampsia. Also, miR-204-5p levels calculated to be meaningfuly increased in relation to patients' mean arterial pressure (MAP) (P = 0.001; P < 0.05). Thrombocyte counts, pregnancy and delivery counts of patients, did not show considerable variation across the groups (P > 0.05). A considerable variation was also identified in 1st-minute Apgar values among the groups (P=0.001; P<0.05). The occurrence of moderate neonatal depression was significantly more frequent among preeclamptic patients (63%) compared to those with normotensive pregnancies (22.5%). Regarding the mean birth weight, a meaningful variation was noted among the patients. The data implying that miR-204-5p could help as a molecular signature specific to preeclampsia, reflecting both its presence and severity. The elevated expression of miR-204-5p detected in preeclampsia, along with its associations with maternal hemodynamic parameters and indicators of fetal well-being, underscore its potential utility as a clinically relevant biomarker for diagnostic purposes Keywords: preeclampsia, prematurity, growth restriction, diagnostic biomarker, mirna