Altered Notch Pathway-Related Protein Expression in Cord Blood of Preeclampsia Offspring

Objective: This study aims to investigate the differential expression of NCOR2, DLL-4, and Jagged-1 proteins in cord blood samples from offspring of mothers with preeclampsia (PE), gestational hypertension (GH), and healthy controls, to understand the impact of these conditions on offspring health. Methods: This is a prospective cohort study, including 17 mother-offspring pairs with gestational hypertension, 17 mother-offspring pairs with preeclampsia, and 34 healthy mother-offspring pairs as controls. Standardized questionnaires were used to collect family and birth information, medical records were used to collect clinical data, and Western blot was employed to measure the expression levels of NCOR2, DLL-4, and Jagged-1 in cord blood. We analyzed the differences in offspring cord blood proteins among the three groups. Results: Protein expression levels of NCOR2, DLL-4, and Jagged-1 differed significantly among the control, GH, and PE groups: ①NCOR2: 1.36±0.44 (control), 1.00±0.12 (GH), 0.94±0.15 (PE) ( p =0.001), with the GH and PE significantly lower than control group. ②DLL-4: 0.82±0.28 (control), 0.98±0.17 (GH), 1.27±0.40 (PE) ( p =0.001), with the PE significantly higher than GH, and GH higher than control group. ③Jagged-1: 1.36±0.28 (control), 1.02±0.12 (GH), 0.87±0.18 (PE) ( p <0.001), with the PE significantly lower than GH, and GH lower than control group. Conclusion: The offspring cord blood levels of NCOR2 and Jagged-1 proteins were significantly increased in offspring of PE and GH, while DLL-4 protein expression was significantly decreased.