Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of preeclampsia using proteomic technologies

Abstract

Preeclampsia, a disease of pregnancy, is a multisystem disorder associated with elevated maternal blood pressure, proteinurea, oedema, and fetal abnormalities. It is a major cause of mortality, morbidity, perinatal death, and premature delivery. Despite active research in the past decade, there is yet no definitive cure for preeclampsia. The disease has been treated symptomatically with antihypertensives, antieclamptics, bed rest, and a whole gamut of isolated therapies. In an attempt to understand the molecular basis of this disease and many other fatal diseases including cancer and heart disease, the scientific community has been turning to understanding the genome and more lately the "proteome". Proteomics enables researchers to identify all proteins expressed in a cell or organ and detect any PTM in the protein expression patterns. Deciphering the placental proteome and studying the differences in protein expression patterns in the normal as against the preeclamptic proteome might possibly in future lead to early detection and therapeutic targeting of preeclampsia.

Differential Proteome Analysis of the Preeclamptic Placenta Using Optimized Protein Extraction

“…For example, precipitating samples with dichloromethane/methanol has been described to remove lipids whereas precipitation with ethanol will remove nucleic acids [ 16 ]. For these reasons, the placenta proteome is not fully investigated although some progress has been made in the use of proteomics technology to study PE placenta [ 17 , 18 ].…”

Tissue proteome profiling of preeclamptic placenta using recombinant antibody microarrays

“…Deciphering the placental proteome, using various proteomic technologies 33–37 could shed further light on the disease and result in early diagnosing and therapeutic targeting of PE 14, 38. In fact, efforts to de‐convolute the molecular features of PE have been made using 2‐D gel electrophoresis or LC‐MS 13, 14, 39–42.…”

Animal Models to Study Placental Development and Function throughout Normal and Dysfunctional Human Pregnancy

“…5 Most information on human placental biology has been obtained by studying placental tissue obtained after delivery, often from pathological pregnancies at various stages of disease, from term deliveries in which placental development has already peaked or began to degenerate, or from ex vivo model systems. [6][7][8][9] There is a paucity of information obtained earlier in gestation when many pregnancy pathologies have their origin, as well as limited information on the normal trajectory of human placental development and function. 5 A better understanding of the maternal-fetal-placental functional dynamics throughout the entirety of gestation could lead to both preventative and therapeutic interventions with lifelong impact.…”