Work

Profiling Cytokines According to the Presence or Absence of Small-for-Gestational Age Using Amniotic Fluid Retrieved During Cesarean Section From Pregnant Women With Early-Onset Preeclampsia

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Preeclampsia (PE) is a hypertensive disorder and a major cause of maternal and fetal mortality. We aimed to investigate the molecular properties of early-onset PE, which requires delivery before 34 weeks' gestation by analyzing the molecular cytokine profile of amniotic fluid obtained during cesarean section from pregnant women with early-onset PE, based on the presence or absence of small-for-gestational age (SGA). METHODS: This study included 73 pregnant women with early-onset PE among which 21 women had SGA infants, whose birth weight was less than the 10th percentile of the gestational age-specific birth weight. Amniocentesis was performed after exposing the amniotic sac during cesarean delivery. Twenty-five cases of appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) infants, who had birth weights between the 25th and 75th percentile of the gestational age-specific birth weight, were arbitrarily selected as a control group. Potential protein biomarkers were analyzed using the Olink® Explore 384 Inflammation panel with a Proximity Extension Assay technique. The biological implications of the differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were assessed using the web-based tool Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery 2021. Enrichment analysis of hub genes was performed using the Metascape Database. RESULTS: ), which are mainly involved in cytokine-cytokine receptor interactions, were overexpressed in the SGA group. CONCLUSION: We found six upregulated hub genes with potential as novel biomarkers for early-onset PE with SGA. Although further investigation is warranted to validate our results, our findings may contribute to a better understanding of the pathogenesis of early-onset PE with SGA.

Source: Journal of Korean Medical Science

DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2025.40.e213

Authors: Soyoung Shin, Shin Kim, Gisu Lee, Jingon Bae, Junho Kang, Jaehyun Park

Institutions: Keimyung University Daegu Dongsan Hospital, Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Keimyung University, Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center

Language: English

Topic: Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies

Subfield: Obstetrics and Gynecology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $690