Biomedical and Molecular Study on Diagnostic Role of Circulating Long Noncoding RNAs (GAS5 and H19) in Preeclampsia.

Abstract

Background: One of the multifactorial pregnancy-specific disorders that has a serious impact on maternal and perinatal morbidity is preeclampsia (PE). Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), such as GAS5 and H19, have been shown in recent research to play a regulatory function in placental development and the pathophysiology of PE.

Aim: To determine the diagnostic association between the lncRNAs GAS5 and H19 and PE, this study compared the expression levels of these lncRNAs in the serum of pregnant women with mild and severe PE and normotensive pregnant controls.

Subjects and methods: A total of 195 pregnant women who visited the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at Menoufia University Hospital between September 2023 and October 2025 participated in this case-control study. They were classified into three equal groups: normotensive pregnant women (control group, n = 65), mild PE (n = 65), and severe PE (n = 65). The levels of GAS5 and H19 expression in serum samples were assessed using quantitative real-time PCR.

Results: Compared with controls, both the mild and severe PE groups showed significantly higher GAS5 expression and significantly lower H19 expression. Nevertheless, there was no obvious distinction in GAS5 and H19 levels between mild and severe PE. The ROC curve analysis demonstrated that GAS5 had high sensitivity and specificity for distinguishing PE from normal pregnancy.

Conclusion: The dysregulation of GAS5 and H19 may contribute to the pathogenesis of PE. GAS5, in particular, demonstrates promising potential as a noninvasive biomarker for PE. GAS5 and H19 do not discriminate between PE severity levels.