Profiling the small non-coding RNA transcriptome of the human placenta

Proper functioning of the human placenta is critical for maternal and fetal health. While microRNAs (miRNAs) are known to impact placental gene expression, the effects of other small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) on the placental transcriptome are not well-established, and are emerging topics in the study of environmental influence on fetal development and reproductive health. Here, we assembled a cohort of 30 placental chorionic villi samples of varying gestational ages (M ± SD = 23.7 ± 11.3 weeks) to delineate the human placental sncRNA transcriptome through small RNA sequence analysis. We observed expression of 1544 sncRNAs, which include 48 miRNAs previously unannotated in humans. Additionally, 18,003 miRNA variants (isomiRs) were identified from the 654 observed miRNA species. This characterization of the term and pre-term placental sncRNA transcriptomes provides data fundamental to future investigations of their regulatory functions in the human placenta, and the baseline expression pattern needed for identifying changes in response to environmental factors, or under disease conditions.