The objectives of the study were as follows: (1) to perform a large-scale biomarker discovery, utilizing an innovative platform to identify proteins associated with preterm birth in plasma taken between 10 and 15 weeks’ gestation and, (2) to determine which protein pathways are most strongly associated with preterm birth. To address these aims, we measured 1129 proteins in a plasma sample from early pregnancy using a multiplexed aptamer–based proteomic technology developed in Colorado by SomaLogic.
Using a nested case-control approach, we measured proteins at a single time point in early pregnancy in 41 women who subsequently delivered preterm and 88 women who had term uncomplicated deliveries. We measured 1129 proteins using a multiplexed aptamer–based proteomic technology developed by SomaLogic. Logistic regressions and random forests were used to compare protein levels.
The complement factors B and H and the coagulation factors IX and IX ab were the highest-ranking proteins distinguishing cases of preterm birth from term controls. The top 3 pathways associated with preterm birth were the complement cascade, the immune system, and the clotting cascade.
Using a discovery approach, these data provide further confirmation that there is an association of immune- and coagulation-related events in early pregnancy with preterm birth. Thus, plasma protein profiles at 10–15 weeks of gestation are related to the development of preterm birth later in pregnancy.