Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Disruption of the Mouse Blood-Brain Barrier by Small Extracellular Vesicles from Hypoxic Human Placentas
Published on: January 26, 2024
A mass spectrometric multicenter study supports classification of preeclampsia as heterogeneous disorder
Ulrich Pecks1, Antje Schütt, Claudia Röwer
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
Objective:
The diagnostic value of affinity-based matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry analysis to distinguish preeclampsia (PE) from matched controls was tested in a multicenter setting.
Methods:
Serum samples of preeclamptic (n = 60) and healthy pregnant women (n = 66) from four centers were prospectively analyzed with predefined rule sets.
Results:
Overall sample classification reached sensitivity of 0.88 and specificity of 0.73. Separate calculations for early-onset PEs only (before 34 weeks of gestation) revealed sensitivity of 0.88 and specificity of 0.89.
Conclusion:
Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry serum-profiling with center-wise standardization offers a fast and robust method to classify PE and contributes to the theory of PE being a heterogeneous disorder that ought to be subclassified.
Related Concept Videos
Hypertension III: Clinical Manifestations and Diagnostic Studies
Peptide Identification Using Tandem Mass Spectrometry
This technique helps gather information regarding the protein from which the peptide was obtained and to study the peptides’ amino acid sequence. Identifying peptides from a complex mixture is an important component of the growing field of...
High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry (HRMS)
Mass Spectrometry: Complex Analysis
GC–MS is a powerful hyphenated method commonly used in forensics and environmental...
