Purpose: Preterm delivery is one of the main causes of perinatal morbidity and mortality and it accounts for 75 % of perinatal mortality and more than half of the long-term morbidity. We applied a proteomic approach based on mass spectrometry (MS) for biomarkers discovery of preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM) by investigating amniotic fluid (AF) invasively and non-invasively collected.
Methods: Amniotic fluid was obtained from vagina of women with pPROM (group 1), PROM at term (group 2) and by genetic amniocentesis (group 3). Pre-fractionated AF proteome was analyzed through matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) MS. The characterization of proteins/peptides of interest was obtained by high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem MS.
Results: Three peptides overexpressed in pPROM and able to discriminate the groups 1 and 2 were detected. One peptide was identified as the fragment Gly452LAVPDGPLGLPPKPro466 of the protein KIAA1522, expressed by fetal brain and liver. This peptide was overexpressed in a patient of the group 3, completely asymptomatic at the time of the amniocentesis, who later developed pPROM.
Conclusion: Amniotic fluid invasively and non-invasively collected can be analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS to obtain proteomic profiles. Proteomic analysis identified a peptide with promising diagnostic capability for pPROM.