Iman Azari - Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Soudeh Ghafouri-Fard - Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mir Davood Omrani - Urogenital Stem Cell Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Shahram Arsang-Jang - Clinical Research Development Center (CRDU), Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, Iran.
Dor Mohammad Kordi Tamandani - Department of Biology, University of Sistan and Baluchistan, Zahedan- Iran.
Mehrnaz Saroone Rigi - Shafa Surgery Center, Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan, Iran.
Sara Rafiee - Department of Biology, University of Sistan and Baluchistan, Zahedan- Iran.
Farkhondeh Pouresmaeili - Department of Medical Genetics, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. & Infertility and Reproductive Health Research Center (IRHRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Mohammad Taheri - Urogenital Stem Cell Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Background: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), a pathologic diminution of the rate of fetal growth, has been associated with alterations in expression of several genes. However, the role of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in its pathogenesis has not been studied. Methods: In this study we evaluated the expression of four lncRNAs namely, nuclear paraspeckle assembly transcript (NEAT1), taurine up-regulated 1 (TUG1), p21-associated ncRNA DNA damage-activated (PANDA), and metastasis-associated lung adenocarcinoma transcript-1 (MALAT1) in placenta samples obtained from IUGR and normal pregnancies to determine their possible contributions in the pathogenesis of IUGR. Results: We found no significant differences in expression levels between cases and controls. We also found no correlation between expression and clinical data of study participants; however, we found significant correlations between expression levels of all the assessed lncRNAs in both cases and controls. Conclusions: These results imply the existence of a possible shared regulatory mechanism for the expression of these transcripts in placenta. Future studies are needed to perform such evaluations in larger sample sizes or in animal models in earlier stages of pregnancy.  

IUGR, MALAT1, PANDA, Placenta, .