MiR-93 Inhibits Trophoblast Cell Proliferation and Promotes Cell Apoptosis by Targeting BCL2L2 in Recurrent Spontaneous Abortion

• DOI: 10.1007/s43032-019-00003-w
• Publication Date: 2020-02-14T19:03:47Z
• Authors: Hai-Ning Liu; Xiu-Ming Tang; Xue-Qin Wang; Jing Gao; Ni Li; Yong-Yong Wang; Hong-Fei Xia
• Keywords: Adult; 0301 basic medicine; Abortion, Habitual; Apoptosis; Cell Line; Trophoblasts; Up-Regulation; 3. Good health; MicroRNAs; 03 medical and health sciences; Pregnancy; Humans; Female; Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; Cell Proliferation

Recurrent spontaneous abortion (RSA) is a common health problem that affects 1-5% of women in reproductive age. Plenty of studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the occurrence of miscarriage. MiR-93 has a wide range of functions in mammalian tissues and plays an important role in many diseases especially for cancers. However, it remains unknown whether miR-93 is associated with human RSA. In this report, clinical samples revealed that miR-93 expression was significantly elevated in the villi tissues of RSA patients. Upregulation of miR-93 inhibited human trophoblast cells HTR-8/SVneo cell proliferation, migration, and invasiveness, but promoted cell apoptosis in vitro. Conversely, the downregulation of miR-93 reversed these effects. Bcl-2 like protein 2 (BCL2L2), a potential target gene of miR-93, was inversely correlated with miR-93 expression in the villi of clinical samples. Furthermore, the luciferase reporter system demonstrated that miR-93 directly downregulated the expression of BCL2L2 by binding a specific sequence of its 3'-untranslated region (3'UTR). Collectively, these data strongly suggest that miR-93 regulates trophoblast cell proliferation, migration, invasive, and apoptosis by targeting BCL2L2 expression and is involved in the pathogenesis of RSA.