Expression profile of micro-RNAs and functional annotation analysis of their targets in human chorionic villi from early recurrent miscarriage

• 155 differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in chorionic villi tissues from RM patients.
• The target genes of the differentially expressed miRNAs were predicted.
• The target genes of miRNAs were mainly involved in MAPK, B cell receptor, T cell receptor and tumor-associated signal pathways.

Aberrant expressions of some miRNAs were reported in the placenta from compromised pregnancies, suggesting that the miRNA profiling of chorionic villi could be related with early recurrent miscarriage (RM). This study was designed to investigate the miRNA expression profile, and to predict their potential target genes and signal pathways. The chorionic villi tissues were collected from 15 early RM cases and 15 controls.We focused on investigating the biological pathways and their potential functions in order to explore what is the likely association and how they are possibly involved in the development of early RM. The chorionic villi tissues were collected from 15 early RM cases and 15 controls. A total of 155 differentially expressed miRNAs over 2-fold changes in expression levels (P < 0.05), including 98 up-regulated and 57 down-regulated expressions. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis revealed that the target genes of those miRNAs were mainly involved in the pathways of MAPK, B cell receptor, T cell receptor and tumor-associated signaling in the development of early RM. Those target genes of differentially expressed miRNAs, coupled with multiple biological processes and pathways, would be beneficial to understand the etiology and pathophysiological mechanism of early RM.