Analysis of Varying MicroRNAs as a Novel Biomarker for Early Diagnosis of Preeclampsia: A Scoping Systematic Review of the Observational Study

BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy-related syndrome with moderate mortality. Early diagnosis of the condition remains difficult, with the current diagnostic modalities being ineffective. The varying microRNAs (miRNAs) as a novel biomarker pose an alternative solution with their potential to be reviewed. METHODS: This study follows the Preferred Reporting Item for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Extended for Scoping Review (PRISMA-ScR). PubMed/MEDLINE, CENTRAL/Cochrane, ProQuest, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library were used for this review. We only include observational studies. A critical appraisal was assessed in this study using QUADAS-2. RESULTS: We retrieved 30 observational studies fulfilling the set criteria. Data extracted were synthesized qualitatively based on miRNAs that are more prominent and their area-under-the-curve (AUC) values. In total, 109 distinct dysregulated miRNAs were identified in comparison to healthy controls, with 10 of them (mir-518b, mirR-155, mirR-155-5p, miR-122-5p, miR-517-5p, miR-520a-5p, miR-525-5p, miR-320a, miR-210, and miR-210-3p) being identified in two or more studies. A brief look at the results shows that 49 miRNAs are downregulated and 74 miRNAs are upregulated, though the fold change of the dysregulation in all studies is not available due to some studies opting for a visual representation of the differences using whisker plots, bar charts, and heat map diagrams to visualize the difference from the reference control. CONCLUSIONS: This study has analyzed the potential of varying miRNAs as potential diagnostic biomarkers and how they might be used in the future. Despite this, potent miRNAs identified should be more emphasized in future research to determine their applicability and connection with the pathogenesis.