Early first trimester peripheral blood cell microRNA predicts risk of preterm delivery in pregnant women: Proof of concept

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the capacity of first trimester peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) microRNA to determine risk of spontaneous preterm birth among pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN: The study included 39 pregnant women with the following delivery outcomes: 25 with a full term delivery (38–42 weeks gestation) 14 with spontaneous preterm birth (<38 weeks gestation). Of the 14 women experiencing spontaneous preterm birth, 7 delivered at 34-<38 weeks gestation (late preterm) and 7 delivered at <34 weeks gestation (early preterm). Samples were collected at a mean of 7.9±3.0 weeks gestation. Quantitative rtPCR was performed on 30 selected microRNAs. MicroRNA Risk Scores were calculated and Area-Under the Curve-Receiver-Operational-Characteristic (AUC-ROC) curves derived. RESULTS: The AUC-ROC for the group delivering preterm (<38 weeks) was 0.95 (p>0.0001). The AUC-ROC for early preterm group (<34 weeks) was 0.98 (p<0.0001) and the AUC-ROC for the late preterm group (34-<38 weeks) was 0.92 (p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Quantification of first trimester peripheral blood PBMC MicroRNA may provide sensitive and specific prediction of spontaneous preterm birth in pregnant women. Larger studies are needed for confirmation.