Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus is a common virus that infects a large proportion of the human population, particularly affecting the fetus during pregnancy. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are essential post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression that play key roles in viral pathogenesis and host immune response. This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of miR-101 and miR-122 genes in women who experienced miscarriage associated with active HCMV infection. A case-control study was conducted in the Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Diyala, Iraq, including 100 women with miscarriage and high CMV viral load and 50 healthy pregnant women as controls. Diagnosis of HCMV infection was performed using the VIDAS assay for IgM and IgG detection, while viral load was determined by quantitative PCR (qPCR). Total RNA was extracted from blood samples, and the relative expression levels of miR-101 and miR-122 were measured by qPCR. Among the 100 miscarriage cases, all were seropositive for CMV. Specifically, 10 (10.0%) samples were positive for CMV IgM, 15 (15.0%) samples were positive for both IgM and IgG, and 75 (75.0%) samples were positive for IgG only. The relative fold-change expression of miR-101 and miR-122 in miscarriage women was 0.70 and 631, respectively, compared to 178.68 and 438.04 in the control group. The downregulation of miR-101 and miR-122 gene expression in women with CMV-associated miscarriage highlights the potential role of HCMV in altering host microRNA expression. Such modulation may contribute to the increased risk of miscarriage and other adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with CMV infection.