Background:  Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is defined as the occurrence of two or more consecutive pregnancy losses prior to 20^th week of gestation. There are several leading causes of RPL including uterine anatomical defects, infections, genetic, immunological, and environmental factors. However, despite in a large number of cases no causes have been identified, therefore, it is introduced as idiopathic.

Recent studies have implicated the role of miRNAs in endometriosis, preeclampsia, infertility and RPL. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association of miR-196a2C>T (rs11614913) with RPL in Iranian women.

Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 183 Iranian women including 83 patients with at least two unexplained consecutive pregnancy losses and 100 healthy controls with at least one live birth and no history of pregnancy loss were investigated. Patients with recurrent pregnancy losses due to anatomic, hormonal, chromosomal, infectious, autoimmune, or thrombotic causes were excluded from the study group. Genotyping was performed using Tetra- ARMS PCR method.

Results:  Significant difference in distribution of miR-196a2 rs11614913 genotypes was found in RPL patients in comparison to controls, with p value of 0.04 and odds ratio equal to 2.96 (95% CI: 1.03-7.03).

Conclusion: The results of the present study provide evidence for association between genetic variation in miR-196a2 and recurrent pregnancy loss. Further studies will be required to validate the significance of the studied genetic variation in diverse populations and its regulatory role on target genes.