BACKGROUND
Pre-eclampsia is one of the three leading causes of maternal mortality worldwide. Un-fortunately, the exact pathogenesis is still unclear. Published metabolomic and gene expression analyses point to Coenzyme A restriction in the placenta as a factor under-pinning the observed complications of pre-eclampsia, but this hypothesis has never been tested.
OBJECTIVE
Investigate the role of CoA restriction in pre-eclampsia
METHODS
This manuscript provides a rationale and a protocol for a clinical study and laboratory experiments to test this hypothesis. It involves screening pre-eclamptic patients for elevated levels of key toxic metabolites induced by the restriction. The laboratory study will involve treating cultured trophoblast cells in a variety of ways to determine if Co-enzyme A restriction can be induced. It involves both metabolite profiling of the culture medium for the toxic metabolites and expression profiling of key genes.
RESULTS
Patients are currently being recruited into the clinical study, and preliminary results will be published in 2026.
CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study will indicate if Coenzyme A restriction is associated with pre-eclampsia. If so, this provides a significant novel avenue for research into the treatment and prevention of the disease.
CLINICALTRIAL
Not applicable