Impact of HOTAIR variants on preeclampsia susceptibility based on blood and placenta and in silico analysis.

HOX transcript antisense RNA (HOTAIR) as a lncRNA involves in epigenetic regulation of various genes. Several studies have been suggested the effects of HOTAIR polymorphisms on different diseases. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of maternal and placental HOTAIR polymorphisms on risk of preeclampsia (PE). The maternal blood of 203 preeclamptic and 202 nonpreeclamptic pregnant women as well as the placentas of 87 of preeclamptic and 95 nonpreeclamptic pregnant women were genotyped for HOTAIR polymorphisms. There was no association between maternal and placental HOTAIR polymorphisms (rs12826786, rs920778, and rs1899663) and PE risk. However, the maternal rs4759314AG and dominant model genotypes were associated with increased risk of PE. The maternal and placental HOTAIR rs10783618 polymorphism was associated with PE risk in recessive and allelic models. Haplotype analysis showed that, the maternal CTGAT and CCTAT and placental CTGAT haplotypes were significantly higher and maternal CTGAC, TCTAT, and TTGAT and placental CTGAC haplotypes were significantly lower in PE women. In silico analysis revealed that HOTAIR rs1899663 had a main effect on the secondary structure of mRNA, however, HOTAIR rs4759314 variant had potential alteration of splicing. In conclusion, the maternal and placental HOTAIR rs10783618 polymorphism might increase PE susceptibility. © 2019 IUBMB Life, 71(9):1367-1381, 2019.