Scientists can predict which women will have serious pregnancy complications –ScienceDaily

Pregnancy disorders affect about 1 in 10 pregnant women. Almost all organ systems in the mother’s body need to change function during pregnancy so that the baby can grow. If the mother’s body is not properly adapted to the growing baby, this is a major and common cause of fetal growth restriction, fetal overgrowth, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia (mother’s life-threatening hypertension). It leads to problems.

Many of these complications lead to difficult work for women with more medical intervention and lifelong problems for babies such as diabetes, heart problems and obesity.

Pregnancy disorders are usually diagnosed in the second or third trimester of pregnancy, but often already have serious implications for the health of mothers and babies. Current methods of diagnosing pregnancy disorders are not sensitive or reliable enough to identify all at-risk pregnancies.

Scientists are now finding ways to test placental hormone levels to predict which women will have serious pregnancy complications.

Dr. Amanda N. Sferruzzi-Perri, Fellow of St. John’s College, University of Cambridge, runs a laboratory in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience and is the lead author of a new treatise published today (June 8). is. Nature Communications Biology..

Dr. Sferruzzi-Perri said: “The female body is amazing, and from the moment of pregnancy, the pregnant female body needs to change almost every organ system and allow the foetation to grow. So she can provide them. In addition, it alters her metabolism and vasculature.

“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 show which women have pregnancy complications. Women are diagnosed with complications because the disorder may already have a serious impact on the health of the mother and her developing baby. Only in the period or the third period.

“Pregnancy disorders affect about 1 in 10 pregnant women, and diagnosis is often too late when complications have already caused significant damage to the mother’s body and fetal development. Given that, this is a very important discovery. “

The placenta is a complex biological organ. It forms and grows from a fertilized egg and attaches to the wall of the uterus. It distributes nutrients and oxygen from the mother to the baby and removes fetal waste products. Despite its importance, the placenta is a highly understood organ and is notorious for being difficult to study in pregnant women. However, the ability to function properly is essential because it affects the outcome of pregnancy and the lifelong health of the mother and child.

The placenta develops during pregnancy and connects the developing baby to the mother. It functions as the lungs, kidneys, intestines, and liver of a growing baby, secreting hormones and excreting waste products, while carrying oxygen and nutrients to the foetation.

Researchers used a mouse model to examine the proteins produced by the placenta and compared them to blood samples from women who were successfully pregnant and who developed gestational diabetes. 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 profiled the placenta and identified hormones secreted to create a comprehensive map of proteins in mysterious organs.

Next, comparing mouse model maps of hormone proteins from the placenta with datasets from studies of human placenta and pregnancy outcomes, researchers found many biological overlaps.

“We found that about one-third of the proteins we identified were altered in pregnant women with disabilities. Whether these placental proteins have any clinical value,” said Dr. Sferruzzi-Perri. In women who developed gestational diabetes using a small study to test, it was present in the mother’s blood as early as the 12th week of pregnancy. Pregnancy complications are usually 24-28 weeks. Be diagnosed.

“We also identified some specific transcription factors, intracellular proteins that turn genes on or off. These may control the production of placental hormones and how they improve pregnancy outcomes. It has important implications for understanding what you can do. “

Scientists investigated whether these genetic biomarkers could be detected during pregnancy and used a study that tracked women’s pregnancy results at Adenbrook Hospital in Cambridge. They found that blood samples showed these biomarkers early in pregnancy, leading to early diagnosis of complications and allowing treatment to begin more quickly.

Dr. Claire Meek, a gestational diabetes doctor and researcher at Addenbrooke’s, said, “This pregnancy-induced diabetes causes accelerated growth and complications during childbirth. This new test allows you to get pregnant early in pregnancy. Diabetes can be identified, preventing illness and protecting mothers and babies from the most harmful complications. “

Dr. Sferruzzi-Perri said: It offers new opportunities to treat these pregnancy complications by making an earlier diagnosis or targeting the placenta. “