Evidence mapPaperPMID 42231329Full record

ArticleJournal of translational medicine2026

CircRNA profiles of extracellular vesicle-enriched fractions from ART suppressed pregnant women living with HIV identifies interactome networks key to inflammation and viral latency.

Dara Brena, Viviane Schuch, Ming-Bo Huang, Anandi Sheth, Tina Tisdale, Christina Mehta, Martina L Badell, Riaun Floyd, Amber Dawning, Alaijah Bashi and 4 more

Abstract read
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Article in Journal of translational medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Dara BrenaDepartment of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
Viviane SchuchDepartment of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
Ming-Bo HuangDepartment of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
Anandi ShethDepartment of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Tina TisdaleDepartment of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Christina MehtaDepartment of Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Martina L BadellDepartment of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Riaun FloydDepartment of Gynecology & Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
Amber DawningDepartment of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
Alaijah BashiDepartment of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
Austin ChanDepartment of Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
Rana ChakrabortyDepartment of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Vincent BondDepartment of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA.
Erica L JohnsonDepartment of Microbiology, Biochemistry, and Immunology, Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30310, USA. erijohnson@msm.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3230-8715

Funding

Research Capacity CoreU54MD007602 · MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · 2025 to 2025
$4.8M
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development R01HD97843NIMHD NIH HHS U54MD007602
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundDespite virologic suppression with ART, pregnant people living with HIV (PLWH) experience a disparate risk of chronic non-AIDS-related morbidities (NAMs) during pregnancy compared to people without HIV infection including preterm labor and small for gestational age. Many studies postulate that NAMs reflect immunological dysfunction from underlying continuous inflammation. Extracellular vesicles (EV) are fundamental to both HIV immune pathogenesis and maternal-placental-fetal systemic intercellular networking. Circular RNAs (CircRNA) are enriched within EVs and are readily transmissible with disease-specific functional outcomes in recipient cell populations. However, there is limited research addressing the intersection of EV circRNA and HIV during pregnancy.

methodsSmall RNA (smRNA) cargo of EV-enriched fractions derived from the plasma of pregnant PLWH (n = 8) was compared to that of pregnant people living without HIV (PLWoH, n = 10) using low-input RNA sequencing (Illumina PE150). Differential circRNA profiles were used to construct circRNA-miRNA-gene regulatory maps and circRNA-protein interactions (circInteractome and miRTarbase). Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) using Reactome on the predicted genes from the interactome networks, provided insights into the regulatory roles of the differentially expressed circRNAs of EV-enriched fractions.

resultsDifferential expression analysis identified 27 significantly upregulated circRNAs of EV-enriched fractions for pregnant PLWH as compared to pregnant PLWoH. GSEA revealed physiological pathways influential to HIV reservoir establishment, latency, replication, immune activation, immunosenescence, as well as maternal-placental-fetal immune cross talk. FUS, AGO2, and EIF4A3 were the top circRNA binding proteins and are involved in scaffolding for circRNA biogenesis, EV sorting, and miRNA sponging. High-density miRNA-binding circRNAs of EV-enriched fractions highlighted circRNA-mediated suppression of HIV inhibitory mechanisms including extensive binding of hsa-miR-326 and hsa-miR-548c-3p.

conclusionsWhile many studies have compared plasma RNA profiles for PLWH compared to PLWoH, few have conducted this analysis for EVs, and we were unable to find a study specific to the unique combination of exploring RNA cargo of EV-enriched fractions in PLWH during pregnancy. This study aims to address the knowledge gap for NAMs in pregnancy by investigating EV-based intercellular communication. The results imply that novel EV circRNA-mediated regulatory mechanisms may contribute to HIV persistence, inflammation, and immune modulation in pregnancy.

Indexed as

Extracellular VesiclesHIV InfectionsInflammationRNA, CircularAdultFemaleGene Regulatory NetworksHumansMicroRNAsPregnancyMicroRNAsRNA, CircularAntiretroviral therapycircRNAExtracellular vesiclesHuman immunodeficiency virusPathway analysisPregnancy-related immunologyTranscriptomics

Identifiers

PMID42231329
PMCPMC13450505

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.