Comparative proteomic profile of the human placenta in normal and fetal growth restriction subjects.
BACKGROUND
Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is the main cause of intrauterine fetal death and the second leading cause of death in the neonatal period. A large body of evidence suggests that FGR may be associated with the placenta, although its etiology and pathogenesis remain to be fully elucidated.


RESULTS
To better understand the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathological development of the placenta in FGR, we used tandem mass tags (TMTs) to construct a large-scale comparative proteomic profile of human placentas from normal and FGR pregnancies. A total of 1,198 kinds of proteins were identified in the control and FGR placentas, of which 95 were differentially expressed between two groups. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA) was used to organize these differentially expressed proteins into networks of interacting proteins and to identify the modules of functionally related proteins. Western blotting was used to verify the expression patterns of several randomly selected proteins.


CONCLUSIONS
The placentas of women with FGR displayed significant proteome differences compared with normal pregnancy. The results indicate that a variety of mechanisms and proteins may contribute to the development of FGR. Further studies and validations are required to elucidate the exact roles of these proteins in FGR pathogenesis.
State Key Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Nanjing Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital Affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210004, China.
Zhijing
Z
Miao
Min
M
Chen
Hong
H
Wu
Hongjuan
H
Ding
Zhonghua
Z
Shi
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D010920:Placenta / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D020543:Proteome / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods
D020543:Proteome