Differential expression profile of long noncoding RNAs in human chorionic villi of early recurrent miscarriage

Miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the fetus reaching viability, including all pregnancy losses from the time of conception until 24 weeks of gestation. Three or more times of consecutive spontaneous miscarriages is defined as recurrent miscarriage (RM). The underlying causes cannot be confirmed in nearly 50% of RM patients. We investigated the differential expression of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) in chorionic villi tissues of RM patients compared with normal women, and their possible involvement in the pathogenic pathways leading to RM. A total number of 1449 differentially expressed lncRNAs were identified from chorionic villi tissues of RM patients compared to normal women. KEGG (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) analysis revealed that these differentially expressed lncRNAs were involved in 26 biological pathways including 11 up-regulated and 15 down-regulated ones. Functional analysis showed that pathways of endocrine, immunity, ECM-receptor interactions and apoptosis are the major pathogenic mechanisms involved in the development of RM. Characterization of these lncRNAs in different pathways opened a new starting point for further investigating the epigenetic regulation mechanisms of lncRNAs in RM.