Proteomic predictors of preterm birth

Abstract

To date, the methods based on the detection of isolated biomarkers have been ineffective in predicting preterm birth. Probably, a reason for this is that these predictors are associated with any one link in pathogenesis and do not take into account another “scenario” for the pathological events. It is becoming increasingly clear that in order to improve the prediction of preterm birth, it is necessary to apply an approach that shall combine the acquisition of data on different biological levels of regulation. Thus, the rapidly developing areas of genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics open up broad prospects for predicting preterm birth. These methods allow for not only measuring thousands of biomarkers in biological samples during pathology, but also evaluating biological changes that precede clinical manifestations. Meanwhile, a number of studies have demonstrated the leading role of proteins in all cellular reactions of the body, which has determined proteome-wide evaluation as one of the most promising areas of omic research. Proteomics can provide additional information about complex biochemical processes at the molecular level, the understanding of which is critical for predicting the various clinical phenotypes of preterm birth. The studies presented in this literature review have shown promise in examining the maternal blood proteome to identify potentially effective predictors of preterm birth.