title: A metabolomic approach identifies differences in maternal serum in third trimester pregnancies that end in poor perinatal outcome.
abstract: Metabolomics offers a powerful holistic approach to examine the metabolite composition of biofluids to identify disruptions present in disease. We used ultra performance liquid chromatography-mass spectroscopy on the maternal serum obtained in the third trimester to address the hypothesis that pregnancies ending in poor outcomes (small for gestational age infant, preterm birth, or neonatal intensive care admission, n = 40) would have a different maternal serum metabolic profiles to matched healthy pregnancies (n = 40). Ninety-eight identified metabolic features differed between normal and poor pregnancy outcomes. Classes of metabolites perturbed included free fatty acids, glycerolipids, progesterone metabolites, sterol lipids, vitamin D metabolites, and sphingolipids; these highlight potential molecular mechanisms associated with pregnancy complications in the third trimester linked by placental dysfunction. In this clinical setting, metabolomics has the potential to describe differences in fetoplacental and maternal metabolites in pregnancies with poor pregnancy outcomes compared with controls.
authors.affiliation: Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, School of Biomedicine, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, UK. alexander.heazell@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Alexander E P
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Heazell
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bernatavicius
authors.forename: Lynne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Warrander
authors.forename: Marie C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Warwick B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Dunn
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006017:Glycolipids / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007236:Infant, Small for Gestational Age / Q000097:blood; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal; D055432:Metabolomics; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000097:blood; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013261:Sterols / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified; D006017:Glycolipids; D013261:Sterols; D011374:Progesterone