Study: Placental hormones help predict pregnancy disorders

June 8 (UPI) – A study published on Tuesday helps identify women who may develop potentially life-threatening illnesses during pregnancy by testing placental hormone levels during the first trimester of pregnancy. Nature Communications Biology..

Data show that about one-third of the placenta-identified proteins that form and grow from fertilized eggs and attach to the uterine wall change in pregnant women with diseases such as gestational diabetes and pre-lamp disorders. It is indicated by.

In this study, women with gestational diabetes diagnosed between 24-28 weeks gestation found abnormal levels of hormones in their mother’s blood during the first trimester of pregnancy, as early as 12 weeks gestation. understood.

Proteins that play an important role in the development of placental hormones may be used as “biomarkers” that are measurable signs of potential disease, leading to early diagnosis of complications and early initiation of treatment. The researchers said it was possible.

“We know that the placenta causes many of the changes in the body of pregnant women, and in our study, hormone biomarkers from the placenta could cause pregnancy complications in any woman. It turns out that it may indicate that it is, “said Amanda N. Sferzzi-Peri, co-author of the study.

“We have found that these biomarkers have been present since the first trimester of pregnancy,” said Sferzzi Peri, a researcher at St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge, UK.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pregnancy disorders such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, pre-lamping childhood, and lamping child (the latter with a spike in blood pressure) affect about 1 in 10 pregnant women.

When that happens, it affects the functioning of the mother’s organ system, which in turn can affect the growth of the baby, Sferzzi Peri and her colleagues said.

If the mother’s body is not properly adapted to the growing baby, it can lead to serious problems such as fetal growth limitation and fetal overgrowth. It can also cause difficult labor for women and lifelong problems for babies, such as diabetes, heart problems and obesity.

Women with pregnancy disorders are usually diagnosed during the second or third trimester of pregnancy, according to researchers, but these complications may have serious implications for the health of mothers and developing babies. There is sex.

In this study, Sferruzzi-Perri and her colleagues used a mouse model to identify proteins made by the placenta and compare them to blood samples from women with successful pregnancy and women with gestational diabetes. Did.

The team has developed a new method for isolating and studying endocrine cells in the mouse placenta. This is because these cells are involved in the secretion of hormones during pregnancy. They also genetically profiled the placenta to identify hormones secreted to create a comprehensive map of proteins in organs.

Blood samples taken at the Adenbrook Hospital in Cambridge, UK, for a study that tracked women’s pregnancy results show that the presence of these hormones in the placenta during early pregnancy enables early diagnosis of complications. Showed, the researchers said.

The placenta is formed from fertilized eggs and grows and attaches to the walls of the uterus, removing fetal waste products and allowing nutrients and oxygen to flow from the mother to the baby. Researchers say that the ability to function properly affects the outcome of pregnancy and the lifelong health of mothers and children.

“The female body is amazing, and from the moment you become pregnant, the pregnant woman’s body needs to change almost every organ system to grow the foetation,” said Sferzzi Peri.

“This study brings new hope that a better understanding of the placenta will lead to a safer and healthier pregnancy for mothers and babies,” she said.