Proteins in blood may provide early warning signs of preeclampsia

Robyn North, Lesley McCowan

The Scope Study has identified a set of proteins in the blood of pregnant women that may predict the development of preeclampsia. The discovery of these biomarkers opens the way to develop a screening test for pre-eclampsia. At present there is no method to identify first-time mothers who will develop this serious condition.

Pre-eclampsia occurs in 4% – 7% of first pregnancies. It affects around 1,650 New Zealand women each year and 8 million women worldwide, and is potentially life-threatening for mother and child.

It typically occurs late in pregnancy, but the research has shown that women who develop pre-eclampsia have altered blood proteins at a much earlier stage.

Women participating in SCOPE provided blood samples at 20 weeks of gestation and the outcome of their pregnancy was followed.

The blood protein profile of women who went on to develop preeclampsia was found to be significantly different than those who had uncomplicated pregnancies. A set of 33 proteins were present at abnormal levels prior to development of preeclampsia, and could form part of a future test to classify which women are at risk of preeclampsia.

The proteins identified will now undergo further investigation in validation studies involving several thousand women.

Preeclampsia is believed to be caused by substances released from the placenta that trigger problems in the mother's circulation. The proteins identified in the research are consistent with the biological processes thought to contribute to preeclampsia, providing further insight into how it may develop.

The results have been published by the SCOPE team. The article will soon appear in the journal Proteomics, and are already available online:

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/104534115/issue

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