Placental expression of microRNAs in infants born small for gestational age.

INTRODUCTION: The molecular mechanisms behind poor foetal growth are not fully known. The aim of this study was to explore global microRNA expression in placentas of infants born small for gestational age (SGA) compared to infants with a normal birth weight (NBW). METHODS: Placental biopsies from term infants were identified in a biobank and divided into four groups: infants born SGA with (n = 13) or without (n = 9) exposure to low maternal gestational weight gain (GWG) and infants born with NBWs with (n = 20) or without (n = 26) exposure to low GWG. All women and infants were healthy, and no woman smoked during pregnancy. Only vaginal deliveries were included. Next-generation sequencing was performed with single read sequencing of >9 million reads per sample. Differential microRNA expression was analysed using ANOVA for unequal variances (Welch) with multiple testing corrections through the Benjamini-Hochberg method. A fold change >2 and a corrected p value < 0.05 were considered significant. Adjustments for possible confounding factors were made using a linear regression model. RESULTS: A total of 1870 known, mature human microRNAs were detected in the sample. MiR-3679-5p and miR-193b-3p were significantly upregulated, and miR-379-3p, miR-335-3p, miR-4532, miR-519e-3p, miR-3065-5p, and miR-105-5p were significantly downregulated after adjustment for potential confounding factors in SGA infants with normal GWG compared to infants with NBWs and normal GWG. DISCUSSION: Infants born unexplained SGA show differential microRNA expression in their placenta. Important pathways for the differentially expressed microRNAs include inflammation and the insulin-IGF system.

HPV Genotyping from the high risk mRNA Aptima assay- a direct approach using DNA from Aptima sample tubes.

The underlying cause of cervical cancer is an infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV) and HPV testing can be used for cervical cancer screening. The Aptima HPV assay from Hologic is an mRNA HPV test used to identify clinically relevant infections but the method does not discriminate between the different high risk genotypes. The aim of the current study was to evaluate if analyzed Aptima sample transfer tubes could be used as a source for HPV genotyping, using sample DNA. Study samples (n=108); were HPV-tested with mRNA Aptima assay and in parallel DNA was extracted and genotyped with Anyplex II HPV28. Analyzed mRNA Aptima tubes were thereafter used as source for a second DNA extraction and genotyping. Using mRNA Aptima result as reference, 90% of the samples (35/39) were high risk positive with the Anyplex II HPV28. Cohen's kappa 0.78 (95% CI: 0.66-0.90), sensitivity 0.90 (95% CI: 0.76-0.97) and specificity 0.90 (95% CI: 0.80-0.96). Two discordant samples carried low-risk genotypes (HPV 82 and HPV 44) and two were negative. DNA-genotyping results, in parallel to and after mRNA testing, were compared and differed significantly (McNemar test: P=0.021) possibly due to sample extraction volume difference. Cohen's kappa 0.81 (95% CI: 0.70-0.92), sensitivity 0.85 (95% CI: 0.74-0.93) and specificity 0.98 (95% CI: 0.88-1.00). In conclusion, analyzed mRNA Aptima sample tubes could be used as a source for DNA HPV genotyping. The sample volume used for extraction needs to be further explored.

Effect of shear stress on the expression of coagulation and fibrinolytic factors in both smooth muscle and endothelial cells in a co-culture model.

UNLABELLED: Blood vessels are subjected to forces due to the flow. Endothelial cells (EC) are recipients, cross-talk with smooth muscle cells (SMC), and regulate physiology. It was hypothesized that both EC and SMC respond to shear stress, which alters the expression of factors in coagulation and fibrinolysis. METHODS: A co-culture of human saphenous vein EC (HSVEC) and human saphenous vein SMC (HSVSMC) was exposed to shear, following which the cells were separated. Gene expression of tissue factor, thrombomodulin (TM), plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) were analyzed with real-time RT-PCR. Protein expression was studied with ELISA. In HSVEC, the expression of PAI-1 (x2.1), tPA (x1.8), uPA (x1.6), tissue factor (x2.5) and TM (x1.9) was upregulated after 4 h of shear compared to controls. After 24 h of shear, expression was still upregulated in tPA (x2.3) and TM (x1.6). In HSVSMC, change in expression of PAI-1 (x2.1) was present after 4 h and in uPA (x2.1), and TM (x0.4) after 24 h. Both HSVEC and HSVSMC responded to shear, which led to altered expression of coagulation and fibrinolytic factors. This indicates that SMC, and interactions between EC and SMC, are more important in the regulation of vascular wall hemostasis than earlier studies have reported.