The long noncoding RNA TARID regulates the CXCL3/ERK/MAPK pathway in trophoblasts and is associated with preeclampsia

Background: The widely accepted explanation of preeclampsia (PE) pathogenesis is insufficient trophoblast invasion and impaired uterine spiral artery remodeling. However, the underlying molecular mechanism remains unclear.

Methods: We performed transcriptome sequencing on placentas of normal and PE patients and identified 976 differentially expressed long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). TCF21 antisense RNA inducing demethylation (TARID) was one of the most significantly differentially expressed lncRNAs and was negatively correlated with the systolic and diastolic blood pressure in PE patients. Furthermore, we verified the effect of TARID on the biological behavior of trophoblasts and performed UID mRNA-seq to identify the effectors downstream of TARID. Then, co-transfection experiments were used to better illustrate the interaction between TARID and its downstream effector.

Results: We concluded that the downregulation of TARID expression may inhibit trophoblast infiltration and spiral artery remodeling through inhibition of cell migration, invasion, and tube formation mediated through the CXCL3/ERK/MAPK pathway.

Conclusions: Overall, these findings suggested that TARID may be a therapeutic target for PE through the CXCL3/ERK/MAPK pathway.