Abstract

Extracellular RNAs as Biomarkers for Placental Function and Dysfunction

Louise Laurent, Associate Professor, University of California-San Diego

Placental dysfunction is responsible for a large fraction of the morbidity and mortality seen in pregnancy, and includes preeclampsia and fetal growth restriction. Although the clinical manifestations of these complications arise in the second half of pregnancy, they stem from abnormal placental development during the first trimester. Therefore, we hypothesize that there are biomarkers that can be evaluated early in pregnancy that will predict later onset of clinical signs and symptoms. Building upon the knowledge that placental RNAs can be detected in the serum of pregnant women, we have used next-generation sequencing of extracellular RNA to identify candidate miRNAs for the prediction of placental dysfunction. Here, we will discuss the techniques used for generation and analysis of the data, and present results supporting the discovery and validation of these biomarkers.