Proteomic Profiling of the Blood Serum for Prediction of Premature Delivery

Mass-spectrometric profiling of the serum in women at weeks 16-17 of gestation was carried out in order to detect proteomic predictors of preterm delivery. Changes in the production of 25 proteins (down-regulation for 13 proteins and up-regulation for 12 proteins) were detected in the sera of women whose pregnancies eventuated in premature deliveries. Among them, proteins with various regulatory functions were distinguished: antioxidant enzymes, chaperons, cytoskeleton proteins, cell adhesion molecules, and proteins involved in angiogenesis, proteolysis, transcription, inflammation processes, binding and transportation of various ligands. These results indicated the formation of proteomic imbalance as early as during trimester II, this eventually leading to premature delivery. The detected serum proteins were suggested as markers for early prediction of premature delivery.