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A Metabolomic Approach Identifies Differences in Maternal Serum in Third Trimester Pregnancies That End in Poor Perinatal Outcome

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Abstract

Metabolomics offers a powerful holistic approach to examine the metabolite composition of biofluids to identify disruptions present in disease. We used ultra performance liquid chromatography–mass spectroscopy on the maternal serum obtained in the third trimester to address the hypothesis that pregnancies ending in poor outcomes (small for gestational age infant, preterm birth, or neonatal intensive care admission, n = 40) would have a different maternal serum metabolic profiles to matched healthy pregnancies (n = 40). Ninety-eight identified metabolic features differed between normal and poor pregnancy outcomes. Classes of metabolites perturbed included free fatty acids, glycerolipids, progesterone metabolites, sterol lipids, vitamin D metabolites, and sphingolipids; these highlight potential molecular mechanisms associated with pregnancy complications in the third trimester linked by placental dysfunction. In this clinical setting, metabolomics has the potential to describe differences in fetoplacental and maternal metabolites in pregnancies with poor pregnancy outcomes compared with controls.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maternal and Fetal Health Research Centre, School of Biomedicine, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, 5th floor (Research), St Mary’s Hospital, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9WL, UK

    Alexander E. P. Heazell MBChB(Hons), PhD, MRCOG, Giovanna Bernatavicius RM & Lynne Warrander MBChB, MRes

  2. School of Biomedicine, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Alexander E. P. Heazell MBChB(Hons), PhD, MRCOG, Marie C. Brown PhD & Warwick B. Dunn PhD

  3. Manchester NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Manchester, UK

    Alexander E. P. Heazell MBChB(Hons), PhD, MRCOG, Marie C. Brown PhD & Warwick B. Dunn PhD

  4. Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics (CADET), Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, UK

    Marie C. Brown PhD & Warwick B. Dunn PhD

Authors
  1. Alexander E. P. Heazell MBChB(Hons), PhD, MRCOG
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  2. Giovanna Bernatavicius RM
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  3. Lynne Warrander MBChB, MRes
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  4. Marie C. Brown PhD
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  5. Warwick B. Dunn PhD
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Correspondence to Alexander E. P. Heazell MBChB(Hons), PhD, MRCOG.

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Heazell, A.E.P., Bernatavicius, G., Warrander, L. et al. A Metabolomic Approach Identifies Differences in Maternal Serum in Third Trimester Pregnancies That End in Poor Perinatal Outcome. Reprod. Sci. 19, 863–875 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719112438446

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719112438446

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