Diagnosis of Intra-amniotic Infection by Proteomic Profiling and Identification of Novel Biomarkers

Abstract

ESPITE IMPROVEMENTS IN PRE-natal care, preterm birth occurs in 11.8% of births in the United States and remains the major obstetrical problem in developed countries. 1 Recently, intraamniotic infection (IAI) has been implicated as a major cause of preterm birth. Intra-amniotic infections cause more than 50% of very low-birthweight neonates born before 30 weeks of gestation and account for the highest number of neonatal deaths, the most serious complications, and a disproportionate share of aggregate perinatal health care costs (estimated in the United States to be $4 billion to $6 billion annually). 2,3 Current evidence indicates that if a microorganism causes preterm birth, it usually does so by infection of the chorioamnion and the amniotic fluid or fetus. Infection of the amniotic fluid or the fe-Author Affiliations are listed at the end of this article.

Human body fluid proteome analysis

“…Early diagnosis of IAI, however, has been hindered by insensitive or non-specific tests. By using SELDI-MS for AF profiling, a few putative markers, including human neutrophil protein (HNP) 1-3, calgranulin A, B, C, and insulin-like growth factor-binding protein 1, were found potentially useful for diagnosis of IAI [451][452][453][454]. MALDI-TOF-MS with functionalized magnetic beads was also reported for proteomic analysis of AF supernatant as a rapid detection of fetal aneuploidies immediately after amniocentesis [455].…”

Vitamin D and Human Pregnancy

“…Romero and colleagues have argued that infection-related preterm labor and premature rupture of membranes (PROM) is due to the activation of host-defense systems which disturb the quiescence of pregnancy 164 . Enhanced expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor ␣ (TNF␣) is associated with preterm delivery 167 , and these factors have been detected in elevated concentrations in the amniotic fluid, serum and gestational tissues of women with preterm delivery 168 . The pro-inflammatory cytokines can be induced by a number of stimuli, including bacterial endotoxins, and they have been shown to promote spontaneous labor and PROM via their actions on gestational tissues [169][170][171] .…”

Comment and reply on: Metabolomics of amniotic fluid and preterm delivery

“…serum or plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, amniotic fluid, tissues, etc.) among patients, typically between healthy individuals and those with disease [4][5][6][7]. However, highdimensional biology techniques could also be used to classify patients with a particular clinical entity into those with good and bad prognosis [8], or even uncover the degree of heterogeneity of a particular entity [9].…”