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June 8 (UPI) – Testing hormone levels in the placenta during the first trimester can help identify women who will develop life-threatening conditions during pregnancy, according to a study released Tuesday by Nature Communications Biology.
About a third of the proteins identified in the placenta, which forms and develops from the fertilized egg and attaches to the wall of the uterus, change in women during pregnancies with conditions such as gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, according to the data.
The study found that abnormal hormone levels were present in the mother’s blood as early as the first trimester, or week 12 of gestation, in women who developed gestational diabetes, which is usually diagnosed between 24 and 28 weeks of gestation.
Proteins that play a key role in the development of placental hormones could be used as “biomarkers” or measurable signs of potential disease, which could lead to earlier diagnosis of complications and allow treatment to begin earlier, have said the researchers.
“We know that the placenta causes many changes in a woman’s body during pregnancy and our study found that hormonal biomarkers in the placenta could indicate which women would have pregnancy complications,” said Amanda N. Sferruzzi-Perri , co-author of the study in a press release. .
“We have found that these biomarkers are present from the first trimester of pregnancy,” said Sferruzzi-Perri, a researcher at St. John’s College at the University of Cambridge in England.
Pregnancy disorders such as high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, preeclampsia and eclampsia, the latter involving spikes in blood pressure, affect about one in 10 pregnant women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .
When they occur, they can impact the functioning of the mother’s organ systems, which in turn can affect the growth of her baby, said Sferruzzi-Perri and colleagues.
If the mother’s body cannot properly adapt to the growing baby, it can lead to major problems, including restriction of fetal growth and fetal overgrowth. It can also cause hard labor for women and lifelong problems for the baby, including diabetes, heart problems, and obesity.
Normally, women with pregnancy disorders are diagnosed in the second or third trimester, when these complications can already have serious consequences for the health of the mother and her developing baby, researchers say.
For this study, Sferruzzi-Perri and colleagues used mouse models to identify proteins made by the placenta and compared them to blood samples from women who had uneventful pregnancies and those who developed gestational diabetes. .
The team developed new methods to isolate and study endocrine cells from the placenta of mice, as these cells are responsible for secreting hormones during pregnancy. They also genetically profiled the placenta to identify the hormones secreted in order to create a complete map of the proteins in the organ.
Blood samples taken for a study that tracked pregnancy outcomes in women at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England, showed that the presence of these hormones in the placenta during early pregnancy could allow a diagnosis earlier complications, the researchers said.
The placenta forms and develops from the fertilized egg and attaches to the wall of the uterus to allow nutrients and oxygen to pass from mother to baby, while removing fetal waste. Its ability to function properly is vital as it impacts pregnancy outcomes and the lifelong health of mother and child, the researchers said.
“The female body is remarkable and from conception a pregnant woman’s body has to change almost every organ system for the fetus to develop,” Sferruzzi-Perri said.
“This work offers new hope that a better understanding of the placenta will result in safer and healthier pregnancies for mothers and babies,” she said.
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