The role of microRNAs in the proliferation, differentiation, invasion, and apoptosis of trophoblasts during the occurrence of preeclampsia—A systematic review

ObjectivesDysregulation of trophoblast invasion into the decidual stroma and spiral arteries during early gestation is one of the major factors associated with the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate, based on recent studies, the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in trophoblast proliferation, differentiation, invasion, and apoptosis during the early gestation of preeclamptic pregnancies.Materials and methodsThis systematic review included articles between 2007 and 2015 that were obtained from the MEDLINE database. The articles were identified by searching using a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH terms), namely “preeclampsia”, “pre-eclampsia”, “miRNA”, and “microRNA”. All sources of miRNAs, all types of preeclampsia, and all techniques used when measuring miRNAs were included in the reviewed papers.ResultsConfirmed upregulation of miR-125b-1-3p, miR-20a, miR-29b, miR-181a, miR-16, miR-210, and miR-155 and confirmed downregulation of miR-17, miR-19b1, miR-195, miR-378a-5p, miR-376c, and miR-675 were identified as involved in repressing the proliferation, differentiation, and invasion of trophoblast cells. In addition, upregulation of miR-29b and downregulation of miR-378a-5p and miR-376c were found to be associated with increased trophoblast cell apoptosis.ConclusionOverall, miRNAs have been confirmed to be involved in the shallow invasion by trophoblasts into the spiral arteries and decidual stroma during early gestation and these miRNAs are possible promising biomarkers that may help to predict preeclampsia in the future.