Biomarkers of preeclampsia
During pregnancy, a complex pathology can be determined by urine analysis
A team of scientists from MIPT, FSBI NC AGiP, IBCF and INEPCF has developed an approach to create a method for noninvasive diagnosis of pregnant women suffering from a serious complex pathology – preeclampsia. Simply put, scientists have found potential biomarkers in the urine of pregnant women. The method of diagnosis based on urine analysis will allow detecting this disease in the early stages in the future. Article by Kononikhin et al. An untargeted approach for the analysis of the urine peptidome of women with preeclampsia is published in the Journal of Proteomics.
Preeclampsia and how it is dangerous
Preeclampsia is a multisystem disorder that occurs in the second half of pregnancy and is characterized by high blood pressure and proteinuria (a significant excess of the normal protein level in the urine). In this condition, a woman suffers from headaches, swelling, fainting and other unpleasant and often dangerous symptoms. Ultimately, preeclampsia puts the health and life of the expectant mother and her child at serious risk.
"The symptoms of pathology are ambiguous, so doctors rarely diagnose "pure" preeclampsia. But even if such a diagnosis is made, a new problem arises: the causes of this disorder are still unknown, so it is impossible to deal with it effectively," Natalia Starodubtseva, an employee of the Department of Molecular Physics at MIPT and head of the Laboratory of Proteomics of Human Reproduction at the Kulakov Federal State Budgetary Research Center, tells how this project began.
That is, doctors are forced to prescribe supportive therapy, remove symptoms, trying to delay the moment of birth of the child, balancing at the same time between the desire to give him more time for full intrauterine development (although he also suffers due to improper formation of the placenta) and the desire to preserve the health of the mother.
Tips of the body or a loophole for the medicine of the future
If something goes wrong at the level of all body systems, it is logical to assume that the "failure" should be looked for at the molecular level. Even in the urine of an absolutely healthy person there is protein, however, in a very small concentration. For doctors, one of the main symptoms of preeclampsia is a noticeable increase in this concentration: (from normal 0.03 g / l to critical 0.3 g / l and above). Scientists wondered if peptides (pieces of proteins) that are released in women suffering from preeclampsia could carry information about pathology. This approach is "on trend" with today's desire for non–invasive diagnostics (without intervention), i.e. analysis of available biomaterials - for example, urine, saliva, exhaled air.
To identify potential biomarker peptides, the researchers compared samples from three groups of patients at the Scientific Center of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology named after him. academician V.I. Kulakov out of ten people: women with a normal pregnancy, with moderate and severe forms of preeclampsia. That is, the interest was not only to compare the sick and healthy, but also to see how certain biomarkers are related to the severity of the condition. After processing the experimental results, 35 peptide biomarkers of preeclampsia were identified. Among them there are, for example, fragments of alpha-1-antitrypsin (14 peptides), alpha chains of type I and type III collagen (6 peptides) and uromodulin (7 peptides).
"We were able to confirm several markers proposed earlier by foreign colleagues, as well as show some new ones. Obviously, verification and confirmation of their significance will be required. It is important that the developed non–invasive method has proven its effectiveness: a clinical method can be developed on its basis," the deputy comments on the result of the study. Alexey Kononikhin, Head of the Laboratory of Ion and Molecular Physics at MIPT.
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01.06.2016