Expression profiles of microRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and immune factors in pregnant women with hepatitis B virus infection

Objective To determine the expression profile of microRNA (miRNA) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and immune factors in pregnant women with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Methods A total of 182 pregnant women infected with HBV were randomly selected, with 40 healthy pregnant women and 35 non-pregnant women as controls. High-throughput sequencing was used to detect RNA in the PBMC of all subjects. Indirect ELISA method was used to determine the changes of cytokines in peripheral blood samples. Results Compared with the control group, 18 differentially expressed miRNA were identified in those with HBV infection (P < 0.01). Among these, miR-3607-3p, miR-20a, miR-1296, miR-153-1 and miR-X4 may directly regulate the transcriptional level of target genes including IL-10, IL-18, IL-16, MCP-1, NUP50 and CCR1. Meanwhile, peripheral blood cytokines IL-10, IL-18, IL-16 and MCP-1 were significantly increased in those with HBV infection (P<0.01), with the expression level of IL-16 and MCP-1 being strongly correlated with the viral load. Conclusion The expression profiles of miRNA in PBMC and cytokines in peripheral blood can change significantly during pregnancy, both may be involved in the immune response to HBV infection. Key words: Pregnancy in conjunct with hepatitis B virus infection; High-throughput sequencing; miRNA; Cytosine