An emerging role for comprehensive proteome analysis in human pregnancy research

Abstract

Elucidation of underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms is pivotal to the comprehension of biological systems. The successful progression of processes such as pregnancy and parturition depends on the complex interactions between numerous biological molecules especially within the uterine microenvironment. The tissue-and stage-specific expression of these biomolecules is intricately linked to and modulated by several endogenous and exogenous factors. Malfunctions may manifest as pregnancy disorders such as preterm labour, pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction that are major contributors to maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Despite the immense amount of information available, our understanding of several aspects of these physiological processes remains incomplete. This translates into significant difficulties in the timely diagnosis and effective treatment of pregnancy-related complications. However, the emergence of powerful mass spectrometry-based proteomic techniques capable of identifying and characterizing multiple proteins simultaneously has added a new dimension to the field of biomedical research. Application of these high throughput methodologies with more conventional techniques in pregnancy-related research has begun to provide a novel perspective on the biochemical blueprint of pregnancy and its related disorders. Further, by enabling the identification of proteins specific to a disease process, proteomics is likely to contribute, not only to the comprehension of the underlying pathophysiologies, but also to the clinical diagnosis of multifactorial pregnancy disorders. Although the application of this technology to pregnancy research is in its infancy, characterization of the cellular proteome, unearthing of functional networks and the identification of disease biomarkers can be expected to significantly improve maternal healthcare in the future.

Global characterization of porcine intrauterine proteins during early pregnancy

“…The level of protein expression is reflected in the staining intensity of the protein spot. The combination of this technique with protein identification using mass spectrometry (Pandey & Mann 2000, Standing 2003) is capable of identifying and characterizing multiple proteins simultaneously that may provide clues to the functional networks during a biological process (Shankar et al 2005).…”

An altered pattern of circulating apolipoprotein E3 isoforms is implicated in preeclampsia

“…It is increasingly recognized that the systematic application of proteomic approaches in pregnancy research will be needed to discover novel biomarkers for preeclampsia (4,5). Recently, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) proteomic techniques have been used to investigate changes in the plasma proteome in preeclampsia (6,7).…”

Molecular aspects of preeclampsia

“…As proof of principle, a differential expression pattern of 5 proteins in plasma samples of preeclamptic compared to normal pregnant women at 26th weeks of gestation was found, yet the nature of the proteins was not communicated (Myers et al, 2004). All further experiences with proteomics as related to human pregnancy research are ex vivo or in vitro approaches and have been reviewed by Shankar et al (Shankar et al, 2005).…”