Proteomic Profiling of Second and Third Trimester Pregnant Females Having Preterm Birth

Preterm birth is the most important obstetric complication, linked with serious health outcomes, huge financial loss and emotional stress to families. The study group included 200 females with second and third trimester of pregnancy. Out of total, 70 females delivered preterm. The samples containing proteins of interests were resolved by 2D-PAGE and after tryptic digestion LC-MS/MS analysis was done. The proteins were identified by Mascot software search engine. SameSpots software was employed to determine the raw volume of proteins. Statistical analysis was done by ANOVA. The presence of potential predictive biomarkers, Haptoglobin alpha chain and transthyretin in 2DE gels of both 2nd and 3rd trimester samples was confirmed. The results of our study showed slight increase in Haptoglobin alpha chain levels in very preterm and extremely preterm groups of 2nd trimester samples. While, in case of 3rd trimester samples the Haptoglobin levels showed significant increase in experimental groups. Considerable decreased expression of transthyretin level in extremely preterm group as compared to very preterm group and control subjects of 2nd trimester pregnancy was detected. While, in case of 3rd trimester samples a gradual significant decrease was observed in experimental groups. The significantly reduced level of transthyretin and increased level of Haptoglobin alpha chain as compared to healthy term pregnancy, will serve as major risk predictor of reduced gestational age.