title: Proteomic profiling reveals α1-antitrypsin, α1-microglobulin, and clusterin as preeclampsia-related serum proteins in pregnant women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Preeclampsia is a major cause of mortality in pregnant women but the underlying mechanism remains unclear to date. In this study, we attempted to identify candidate proteins that might be associated with preeclampsia in pregnant women by means of proteomics tools.
  
  
  METHODS
  Differentially expressed proteins in serum samples obtained from pregnant women with severe preeclampsia (n = 8) and control participants (n = 8) were identified using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) followed by peptide mass fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS). Additional serum samples from 50 normal and 41 pregnant women with severe preeclampsia were analyzed by immunoassay for validation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Ten protein spots were found to be upregulated significantly in women with severe preeclampsia. These protein spots had the peptide mass fingerprints matched to α1-antitrypsin, α1-microglobulin, clusterin, and haptoglobin. Immunoassays in an independent series of serum samples showed that serum α1-antitrypsin, α1-microglobulin, and clusterin levels of severe preeclampsia patients (n = 41) were significantly higher than those in the normal participants (n = 50; α1-antitrypsin 295.95 ± 50.94 mg/dL vs. 259.31 ± 33.90 mg/dL, p = 0.02; α1-microglobulin 0.029 ± 0.004 mg/mL vs. 0.020 ± 0.004 mg/mL, p < 0.0001; clusterin 77.6 ± 16.15 μg/dL vs. 67.6 ± 15.87 μg/dL, p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identification of these proteins by proteomics analysis enables further understanding of the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. Further studies are warranted to investigate the role of these biomarkers in prediction of this disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Te-Yao
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Taipei Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: T'sang-T'ang
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Hsieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Chang Bing Show Chwan Memorial Hospital, Lukang, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuender D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ching-Chang
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Yu
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Bi-Hua
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Hsun
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsuan-Ning
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: An-Kuo
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Genomic Medicine Research Core Laboratory (GMRCL), Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chang-Chun
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Hsiao
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University College of Medicine, Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Electronic address: haolin@adm.cgmh.org.tw.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000510:Alpha-Globulins / Q000378:metabolism*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D051152:Clusterin / Q000097:blood*; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin
chemical_list: D000510:Alpha-Globulins; D015415:Biomarkers; D001798:Blood Proteins; D051152:Clusterin; D000515:alpha 1-Antitrypsin; C016001:alpha-1-microglobulin
keywords: clusterin; preeclampsia; proteomics; α1-antitrypsin; α1-microglobulin