Title:Proteomic Profiling of Maternal Serum for Early Risk Analysis of
Preterm Birth
Volume: 19
Issue: 3
Author(s): Javeria Malik, Shaaf Ahmad, Humaira Aziz, Nabila Roohi*Muhammad Amir Iqbal
Affiliation:
- Department of Zoology, University of the Punjab, 54590-Lahore, Pakistan
Keywords:
Preterm birth, biomarkers, gestational age, serum profiles, electrophoresis, at-risk pregnancy, early delivery.
Abstract:
Background: The absence of absolute clinical indicators and suitable biomarkers hinders
the timely diagnosis of women at risk of preterm birth. It influences roughly 12% of births. At
delivery and clinical presentation, preterm births are generally inspected based on the gestational
period. Different disturbed pathways are associated with the signs of at-risk pregnancies.
Objective: The main purpose of this study is to analyze and explore the serum proteome of early deliveries
and help health care professionals to improve the understanding of the progression of
preterm birth.
Methods: In the present study, 200 pregnant females of 20-30 years of age were selected. We collected
samples of second and third-trimester pregnant females, out of which 40 females delivered
preterm. We further divided them into three groups, i.e., extremely preterm group, very preterm,
and controls. Overall comparison of serum profiles of all the three groups expressing fourteen proteins
ranging between 200-10kDa was made. Serum proteins were isolated by one-dimensional
sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and photographed by totalLab quant
software. Groups were evaluated using the ANOVA Tukey’s Post Hoc analysis.
Results: Proteins of 69kDa and 15kDa expressed a significant decrease when compared with control
subjects. In contrast, the proteins of 23kDa expressed a significant increase, while the proteins
of 77kDa, 45kDa, and 25kDa demonstrated no considerable variation.
Conclusion: The serum proteins showing significant difference as compared to the control group
will serve as predictive biomarkers for at-risk pregnancies. The present study is expected to considerably
improve the understanding of the disease pathogenesis along with improved diagnostic and
therapeutic approaches leading to better management of pregnancy and reducing the risk of
preterm birth.
