Western inventors have identified a group of 12 differentially expressed proteins in Preeclampsia (PE) patients using a state-of-art proteomics based approach.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION: Western inventors have identified a group of 12 differentially expressed proteins in Preeclampsia (PE) patients using a state-of-art proteomics based approach. These proteins are either up or down-regulated in PE patients and many of them are functionally related and point to several biological pathways or processes involved in the pathology of PE. These 12 proteins can be divided into five functional sub-groups. All of these proteins were found in the less than 28 week sample set. This finding represents a definitive starting point for biomarker discovery and currently a larger scale biomarker validation study is underway.

BACKGROUND: Preelcampsia (PE) is a pregnancy specific disease that is characterized by hypertension and proteinuria. If the pregnancy is left to continue to full term with PE present, the disease will progress to eclampsia and result in seizures coma and mortality. PE is the leading cause of maternal and prenatal deaths worldwide, affecting 3-0 percent of all pregnancies. In the US alone, PE is responsible for 18 percent of all maternal deaths, 80,000 premature births and numerous neonatal complications; the estimated costs in the US due to PE is USD$7B annually.
To date, there are no reliable diagnostics or biomarkers that can accurately predict the onset of PE. While the cause of PE is still unknown, clinical evidence unequivocally points to the placenta as the site of pathophysiology.

POTENTIAL ADVANTAGES/USES: Competitive advantages of this technology include:

• Direct linkage to the site of PE pathophysiology, placenta. While the exact cause of this disease is unknown, clinical evidence unequivocally points to the placenta as the site of pathophysiology
• All 12 proteins identified through comparison of control and preeclamptic CV (chorionic villa) samples by 2D SDS-PAGE
• Direct association with biological pathways related to the onset or progression of this disease, representing a definitive start point for PE biomarker discovery

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE: Proof of Principle 

Reference Number: UWO-AH-017

Key Words: Pre-eclampsia therapy, in-vitro diagnotics.

Early Stage

U.S. Provisional Patent Application Filed 

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