Project description:Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a placental disease characterized by hypertension and proteinuria in pregnant women, which is associated with a high maternal and infantile morbidity. However, circulating biomarkers able to predict the prognosis of PE are lacking. Methods: Thirty-eight women were included in the study. They consisted of 19 patients with PE (13 with severe PE and 6 women with non-severe PE) and 19 gestational age-matched normal pregnancy controls. We measured coagulation pathway, endothelial responses and microparticle release and circulating gene expression in PE patient groups and normotensive controls. Results: The measurement of markers associated with coagulation pathway, endothelial activation and circulating microparticles enabled to discriminate PE from normal pregnancy but were not sufficient to distinguish severe from non-severe PE. PE patients also exhibited a specific transcriptional program distinct from that of control women and subtle differences were observed between severe and non-severe PE. Functional annotation of the up-modulated signature in PE highlighted two main functions related to ribosome and complement. Importantly, we found that 8 genes were specifically up-modulated in severe preeclampsia. Among these genes, the expression of VSIG4 was significantly increased in patients with severe preeclampsia in comparison with controls and patients with non-severe preeclampsia. Conclusion: Using transcriptional signatures of blood samples, we identified the gene encoding the estrogen receptor as a potential diagnostic marker of severe preeclampsia. In addition, the determination of this gene may improve the prognostic assessment of severe preeclampsia.
Project description:Background: Preeclampsia (PE) is a placental disease characterized by hypertension and proteinuria in pregnant women, which is associated with a high maternal and infantile morbidity. However, circulating biomarkers able to predict the prognosis of PE are lacking. Methods: Thirty-eight women were included in the study. They consisted of 19 patients with PE (13 with severe PE and 6 women with non-severe PE) and 19 gestational age-matched normal pregnancy controls. We measured coagulation pathway, endothelial responses and microparticle release and circulating gene expression in PE patient groups and normotensive controls. Results: The measurement of markers associated with coagulation pathway, endothelial activation and circulating microparticles enabled to discriminate PE from normal pregnancy but were not sufficient to distinguish severe from non-severe PE. PE patients also exhibited a specific transcriptional program distinct from that of control women and subtle differences were observed between severe and non-severe PE. Functional annotation of the up-modulated signature in PE highlighted two main functions related to ribosome and complement. Importantly, we found that 8 genes were specifically up-modulated in severe preeclampsia. Among these genes, the expression of VSIG4 was significantly increased in patients with severe preeclampsia in comparison with controls and patients with non-severe preeclampsia. Conclusion: Using transcriptional signatures of blood samples, we identified the gene encoding the estrogen receptor as a potential diagnostic marker of severe preeclampsia. In addition, the determination of this gene may improve the prognostic assessment of severe preeclampsia. Thirty-eight women were included in the study: 19 patients with PE, including 6 women with non-severe PE and 13 with severe PE, and 19 women with normal pregnancy (NP) selected according to age, weight, smoking status, race, gestational age at the inclusion, and blood pH (Table 1 of manuscript). Women with NP had no history of medical illness or medication, and received routing prenatal care. The diagnostic of PE was based on a blood pressure of M-bM-^IM-% 140/90 mmHg taken twice, uricemia above normal laboratory range (120-420 M-BM-5mol/L), and proteinuria higher than 300 mg in a 24 hour-collection, occurring after 20 gestational weeks in previously normotensive women (Table 2). The criteria used to define severe PE included one of the following conditions: a blood pressure higher than 160/110 mmHg, a proteinuria higher than 1500 mg/24h), a multisystem disorder, maternal cerebral symptoms (seizures, stroke) or intrauterine growth restriction below the 3M-BM-0 percentile. Women with multiple gestations, fetal congenital malformations/chromosomal abnormalities, recent infection, antiphospholipid antibodies, trauma, drug or alcohol abuse during pregnancy, preexisting hypertension, thrombophilia with PE history, or women receiving anticoagulant or antiaggregation therapy were excluded from the study. Two microarrays (one non-severe PE and one normal) were discarded from the analysis for technical reasons. Thus, only 36 microarrays are included here.
Project description:Early-onset preeclampsia (EOPE) is a severe pregnancy complication associated with significant maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Currently, there is a critical need for accurate, non-invasive biomarkers to facilitate early diagnosis and effective management of EOPE. In this study, we aimed to investigate the transcriptional alterations and non-invasive biomarker potential of peripheral blood microRNAs in patients with EOPE. Through our research, we successfully identified two reliable plasma miRNA biomarkers and proposed a circulating two-miRNA panel for the non-invasive early detection of EOPE. Additionally, we independently validated our findings in different patient cohorts using various technological platforms.
Project description:Transcriptional profiling of Homo sapiens inflammatory skin diseases (whole skin biospies): Psoriasis (Pso), vs Atopic Dermatitis (AD) vs Lichen planus (Li), vs Contact Eczema (KE), vs Healthy control (KO) In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation. In recent years, different genes and proteins have been highlighted as potential biomarkers for psoriasis, one of the most common inflammatory skin diseases worldwide. However, most of these markers are not psoriasis-specific but also found in other inflammatory disorders. We performed an unsupervised cluster analysis of gene expression profiles in 150 psoriasis patients and other inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, lichen planus, contact eczema, and healthy controls). We identified a cluster of IL-17/TNFα-associated genes specifically expressed in psoriasis, among which IL-36γ was the most outstanding marker. In subsequent immunohistological analyses IL-36γ was confirmed to be expressed in psoriasis lesions only. IL-36γ peripheral blood serum levels were found to be closely associated with disease activity, and they decreased after anti-TNFα-treatment. Furthermore, IL-36γ immunohistochemistry was found to be a helpful marker in the histological differential diagnosis between psoriasis and eczema in diagnostically challenging cases. These features highlight IL-36γ as a valuable biomarker in psoriasis patients, both for diagnostic purposes and measurement of disease activity during the clinical course. Furthermore, IL-36γ might also provide a future drug target, due to its potential amplifier role in TNFα- and IL-17 pathways in psoriatic skin inflammation.
Project description:Preeclampsia is a common complication of pregnancy that affects 4-5% of pregnant women around the world. At present, there is a lack of early identification of high-risk patients of preeclampsia in clinical practice, which restricts the development of disease prevention and treatment. Previous studies have indicated that plasma exosomal miRNAs in pregnant women could serve as biomarkers of preeclampsia, but few is focused on exosomal miRNAs from preeclampsia pregnancy with severe features(sPE). Therefore, we detected and compared the plasma exosomal miRNA profiles between normal pregancy and sPE to explore potential biomarkers and pathogenic mechanisms of sPE.