| 1. |
- Hallingström, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Proteomic Analysis of Early Mid-Trimester Amniotic Fluid Does Not Predict Spontaneous Preterm Delivery
- 2016
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 11:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective The aim of this study was to identify early proteomic biomarkers of spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD) in mid-trimester amniotic fluid from asymptomatic women. This is a case-cohort study. Amniotic fluid from mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis (14-19 weeks of gestation) was collected from 2008 to 2011. The analysis was conducted in 24 healthy women with subsequent spontaneous PTD (cases) and 40 randomly selected healthy women delivering at term (controls). An exploratory phase with proteomics analysis of pooled samples was followed by a verification phase with ELISA of individual case and control samples. The median (interquartile range (IQR: 25th; 75th percentiles) gestational age at delivery was 35+5 (33+6-36+6) weeks in women with spontaneous PTD and 40+0 (39+1-40+5) weeks in women who delivered at term. In the exploratory phase, the most pronounced differences were found in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, that were approximately two-fold higher in the pooled case samples than in the pooled control samples. However, we could not verify these differences with ELISA. The median (25th; 75th IQR) CRP level was 95.2 ng/mL (64.3; 163.5) in women with spontaneous PTD and 86.0 ng/mL (51.2; 145.8) in women delivering at term (p = 0.37; t-test). Proteomic analysis with mass spectrometry of mid-trimester amniotic fluid suggests CRP as a potential marker of spontaneous preterm delivery, but this prognostic potential was not verified with ELISA.
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| 2. |
- Hallingström, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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The association between selected mid-trimester amniotic fluid candidate proteins and spontaneous preterm delivery
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1476-7058 .- 1476-4954. ; 33:4, s. 583-592
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: The aim of this study was to explore inflammatory response and identify early potential biomarkers in mid-trimester amniotic fluid associated with subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD). Methods: A cohort study was performed at Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra, Gothenburg, Sweden, between 2008 and 2010. Amniotic fluid was collected from consecutive women undergoing mid-trimester transabdominal genetic amniocentesis at 14–19 gestational weeks. Clinical data and delivery outcome variables were obtained from medical records. The analysis included 19 women with spontaneous PTD and 118 women who delivered at term. A panel of 26 candidate proteins was analyzed using Luminex xMAP technology. Candidate protein concentrations were analyzed with ANCOVA and adjusted for plate effects. Results: The median gestational age at delivery was 35 + 3 weeks in women with spontaneous PTD and 40 + 0 weeks in women who delivered at term. Nominally significantly lower amniotic fluid levels of adiponectin (PTD: median 130,695 pg/mL (IQR 71,852–199,414) vs term: median 185,329 pg/mL (IQR (135,815–290,532)), granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (PTD: median 137 pg/mL (IQR 74–156) vs term: median 176 pg/mL (IQR 111–262)), and macrophage migration inhibitory factor (PTD: median 3025 pg/mL (IQR 1885–3891) vs term: median 3400 pg/mL (IQR 2181–5231)) were observed in the spontaneous PTD group, compared with the term delivery group, after adjusting for plate effects. No significant differences remained after Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons. Conclusions: Our results are important in the process of determining the etiology behind spontaneous PTD but due to the non-significance after Bonferroni correction, the results should be interpreted with caution. Further analyses of larger sample size will be required to determine whether these results are cogent and to examine whether microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity or intra-amniotic inflammation occurs in asymptomatic women in the mid-trimester with subsequent spontaneous PTD.
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| 3. |
- Aberšek, Nina, et al.
(författare)
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Calprotectin levels in amniotic fluid in relation to intra-amniotic inflammation and infection in women with preterm labor with intact membranes: A retrospective cohort study
- 2022
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Ingår i: European Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1872-7654 .- 0301-2115. ; 272, s. 24-29
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Objective: To evaluate the concentrations of calprotectin in amniotic fluid with respect to intra-amniotic inflammation and infection and to assess the presence or absence of bacteria in the amnio-chorionic niche with respect to presence or absence of intra-amniotic inflammation. Study design: Seventy-nine women with singleton pregnancies and preterm labor with intact membranes (PTL) were included in the study. Amniotic fluid was collected at the time of admission by amniocentesis and calprotectin levels were analyzed from frozen/thawed samples using ELISA. Interleukin (IL)-6 concentration was measured by point-of-care test. Samples from amniotic fluid and the amnio-chorionic niche (space between amniotic and chorionic membranes) were microbiologically analyzed. Microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity (MIAC) was diagnosed based on a positive PCR result for Ureaplasma species, Mycoplasma hominis, 16S rRNA or positive culture. Intra-amniotic inflammation (IAI) was defined as amniotic fluid point-of-care IL-6 concentration ≥ 745 pg/mL. The cohort of included women was divided into 4 subgroups based on the presence or absence of IAI/MIAC; i) intra-amniotic infection, ii) sterile IAI, iii) intra-amniotic colonization and iv) neither MIAC nor IAI. Results: Women with intra-amniotic infection had a significantly higher intra-amniotic calprotectin concentration (median; 101.6 µg/mL) compared with women with sterile IAI (median; 9.2 µg/mL), women with intra-amniotic colonization (median; 2.6 µg/mL) and women with neither MIAC nor IAI (median 4.6 µg/mL) (p = 0.001). Moreover, significantly higher amniotic fluid calprotectin concentration was seen in women who delivered within 7 days (p = 0.003). A significant negative correlation was found between amniotic fluid calprotectin and gestational age at delivery (rho = 0.32, p = 0.003). Relatively more bacteria in the amnio-chorionic niche were found in the sterile IAI group compared with the other groups. Conclusions: Calprotectin concentrations in amniotic fluid were significantly higher in the intra-amniotic infection group compared with the other groups. Moreover, the bacterial presence in the amnio-chorionic niche was higher in IAI group.
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| 4. |
- Dar, Pe'er, et al.
(författare)
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Cell-free DNA screening for prenatal detection of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome.
- 2022
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Ingår i: American journal of obstetrics and gynecology. - : Elsevier BV. - 1097-6868 .- 0002-9378. ; 227:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Prenatal screening has historically focused primarily on detection of fetal aneuploidies. Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) now enables noninvasive screening for subchromosomal copy number variants, including 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS or DiGeorge syndrome), which is the most common microdeletion and a leading cause of congenital heart defects and neurodevelopmental delay. Although smaller studies have demonstrated the feasibility of screening for 22q11.2DS, large cohort studies with postnatal confirmatory testing to assess test performance have not been reported.To assess the performance of SNP-based cfDNA prenatal screening for detection of 22q11.2DS.Patients who had SNP-based cfDNA prenatal screening for 22q11.2DS were prospectively enrolled at 21 centers in 6 countries. Prenatal or newborn DNA samples were requested in all cases for genetic confirmation with chromosomal microarray. The primary outcome was sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of cfDNA for detection of all deletions, including the classical deletion and nested deletions that are ≥500kb, in the 22q11.2 low copy repeat A-D region. Secondary outcomes included the prevalence of 22q11.2DS and performance of an updated cfDNA algorithm that was evaluated blinded to pregnancy outcome.Of 20,887 women enrolled, genetic outcome was available in 18,289 (87.6%). Twelve 22q11.2DS cases were confirmed in the cohort, including five (41.7%) nested deletions, yielding a prevalence of 1:1524. In the total cohort, cfDNA reported 17,976 (98.3%) as low risk for 22q11.2DS and 38 (0.2%) as high-risk; 275 (1.5%) were non-reportable. Overall, 9 of 12 cases of 22q11.2 were detected, yielding a sensitivity of 75.0% (95% CI: 42.8, 94.5); specificity of 99.84% (95% CI: 99.77, 99.89); PPV of 23.7% (95% CI: 11.44, 40.24) and NPV of 99.98% (95% CI: 99.95, 100). None of the cases with a non-reportable result was diagnosed with 22q11.2DS. The updated algorithm detected 10/12 cases (83.3%; 95% CI: 51.6-97.9) with a lower false positive rate (0.05% vs. 0.16%, p<0.001) and a PPV of 52.6% (10/19; 95% CI 28.9-75.6).Noninvasive cfDNA prenatal screening for 22q11.2DS can detect most affected cases, including smaller nested deletions, with a low false positive rate.
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| 5. |
- Hallingström, Maria
(författare)
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Biomarkers in mid-trimester amniotic fluid in relation to gestational duration and spontaneous preterm delivery
- 2020
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: The biological mechanisms and physiological pathways of pregnancy maintenance and timing of delivery are complex and multifactorial. Pregnancy clocks, partly controlled by timing mechanisms linked to fetal development, which regulate the onset of labor has previously been described. These clocks include inflammatory processes, involving endocrine, mechanical and genetic factors. However, the sequence and timing of events preceding the spontaneous onset of labor, both at term and at preterm, are as yet incompletely identified. Spontaneous preterm delivery, defined as delivery before 37 weeks of gestation, is a serious global health problem accounting for the majority of all perinatal deaths and half of the short- and long-term postnatal morbidity. Identifying women at risk of spontaneous preterm delivery is complicated by its heterogeneous etiology and several different sub-phenotypes. Mid-trimester amniocentesis, clinically performed for prenatal genetic testing, provides a unique opportunity to obtain insight into the intrauterine environment in asymptomatic women early in gestation. However, the complex and dynamic composition of amniotic fluid changes continually as pregnancy progresses, making early identification of factors involved in the process of spontaneous preterm delivery and other pregnancy complications, a major challenge. Objective: The aim of this thesis and its constituent papers was to identify specific biomarkers related to the development of subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery, by examination of mid-trimester amniotic fluid composition in asymptomatic women. During the period of doctoral studies, new data emerged, indicating that a shift to gestational duration as the main outcome might increase the likelihood of finding associations that could assist in the prediction of spontaneous preterm delivery. The aim thus partly shifted toward investigating associations between mid-trimester amniotic fluid composition and gestational duration. Material and methods: All constituent papers in this thesis are based on subsets of a single cohort of 1,240 amniotic fluid samples collected from asymptomatic women aged over 18 years with a singleton viable pregnancy, intact membranes, without preterm labor or signs of infection, undergoing genetic amniocentesis at gestational weeks 14-19 at Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra, Gothenburg, Sweden during September 2008 to December 2017. Demographics and clinical data were obtained from medical records at inclusion and after delivery. Studies investigating inflammatory, immunological and cellular-metabolic markers were designed to contribute to early identification of women with subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery and to study associations with gestational duration. Amniotic fluid samples were analyzed with targeted hypothesis-driven approaches using multiplex technologies such as Luminex xMAP and Meso-Scale Discovery, as well as with broad, untargeted hypothesis-generating approaches such as proteomics and metabolomics. The proteomics analyses were followed by validation/replication with Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, a singleplex technology. Results: No mid-trimester amniotic fluid biomarkers associated with spontaneous preterm delivery were identified. Thrombospondin-1, macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta and S100 calcium-binding protein A8, two alarmins and one chemokine, were found to be significantly associated with gestational duration in women with a spontaneous onset of labor at term. Gestational age at sampling was strongly associated with protein concentrations in several of the constituent studies. Conclusions: I) Biological signals in early mid-trimester amniotic fluid may be of insufficient strength for accurate risk prediction of spontaneous PTD, or the condition may result from acute events not detectable in amniotic fluid as early as at mid-trimester; II) Alarmins and chemokines, which seem to play an essential role in the inflammatory processes preceding the spontaneous onset of labor at term, can be detected in amniotic fluid as early as in the mid-trimester; III) The concept of a pregnancy clock is strengthened by our findings, which also suggest that this is reflected in the amniotic fluid, where deviations from the clock may precede spontaneous preterm delivery; and IV) The results emphasize the importance of adjusting for gestational age at sampling when performing amniotic fluid biomarker studies.
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| 6. |
- Hallingström, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Metabolomic profiles of mid-trimester amniotic fluid are not associated with subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery or gestational duration at delivery
- 2022
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Ingår i: Journal of Maternal-Fetal and Neonatal Medicine. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1476-7058 .- 1476-4954. ; 35:11, s. 2054-2062
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction:Spontaneous preterm delivery (<37 gestational weeks) has a multifactorial etiology with still incompletely identified pathways. Amniotic fluid is a biofluid with great potential for insights into the feto-maternal milieu. It is rich in metabolites, and metabolic consequences of inflammation is yet researched only to a limited extent. Metabolomic profiling provides opportunities to identify potential biomarkers of inflammatory conditioned pregnancy complications such as spontaneous preterm delivery. Objective:The aim of this study was to perform metabolomic profiling of amniotic fluid from uncomplicated singleton pregnancies in the mid-trimester to identify potential biomarkers associated with spontaneous preterm delivery and gestational duration at delivery. A secondary aim was to replicate previously reported mid-trimester amniotic fluid metabolic biomarkers of spontaneous preterm delivery in asymptomatic women. Method:A nested case-control study was performed within a larger cohort study of asymptomatic pregnant women undergoing mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis at 14-19 gestational weeks in Gothenburg, Sweden. Medical records were used to obtain clinical data and delivery outcome variables. Amniotic fluid samples from women with a subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery (n = 37) were matched with amniotic fluid samples from women with a subsequent spontaneous delivery at term (n = 37). Amniotic fluid samples underwent untargeted metabolomic analyses using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Multivariate random forest analyses were used for data processing. A secondary targeted analysis was performed, aiming to replicate previously reported mid-trimester amniotic fluid metabolic biomarkers in women with a subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery. Results:Multivariate analysis did not distinguish the samples from women with a subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery from those with a subsequent term delivery. Neither was the metabolic profile associated with gestational duration at delivery. Potential metabolic biomarker candidates were identified from four publications by two different research groups relating mid-trimester amniotic fluid metabolomes to spontaneous PTD, of which fifteen markers were included in the secondary analysis. None of these were replicated. Conclusions:Metabolomic profiles of early mid-trimester amniotic fluid were not associated with spontaneous preterm delivery or gestational duration at delivery in this cohort.
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| 7. |
- Hallingström, Maria, et al.
(författare)
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Mid-trimester amniotic fluid proteome’s association with spontaneous preterm delivery and gestational duration
- 2020
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Ingår i: PLoS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203 .- 1932-6203. ; 15:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background Amniotic fluid is clinically accessible via amniocentesis and its protein composition may correspond to birth timing. Early changes in the amniotic fluid proteome could therefore be associated with the subsequent development of spontaneous preterm delivery. Objective The main objective of this study was to perform unbiased proteomics analysis of the association between mid-trimester amniotic fluid proteome and spontaneous preterm delivery and gestational duration, respectively. A secondary objective was to validate and replicate the findings by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using a second independent cohort. Methods Women undergoing a mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis at Sahlgrenska University Hospital/Östra between September 2008 and September 2011 were enrolled in this study, designed in three analytical stages; 1) an unbiased proteomic discovery phase using LC-MS analysis of 22 women with subsequent spontaneous preterm delivery (cases) and 37 women who delivered at term (controls), 2) a validation phase of proteins of interest identified in stage 1, and 3) a replication phase of the proteins that passed validation using a second independent cohort consisting of 20 cases and 40 matched controls. Results Nine proteins were nominally significantly associated with both spontaneous preterm delivery and gestational duration, after adjustment for gestational age at sampling, but none of the proteins were significant after correction for multiple testing. Several of these proteins have previously been described as being associated with spontaneous PTD etiology and six of them were thus validated using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Two of the proteins passed validation; Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, but the results could not be replicated in a second cohort. Conclusions Neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin and Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 are potential biomarkers of spontaneous preterm delivery and gestational duration but the findings could not be replicated. The negative findings are supported by the fact that none of the nine proteins from the exploratory phase were significant after correction for multiple testing.
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| 8. |
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| 9. |
- Stinson, Lisa, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of Bacterial DNA Profiles in Mid-Trimester Amniotic Fluid Samples From Preterm and Term Deliveries
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Microbiology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-302X. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Infection and inflammation are well recognized causes of spontaneous preterm delivery (PTD) (<37 gestational weeks) and adverse infant outcomes. To date, there has been very little investigation into bacterial communities in amniotic fluid using next generation sequencing technology. In particular, it is important to characterize amniotic fluid bacterial profiles in complicated pregnancies as well as in asymptomatic women to identify predictive bacterial DNA signatures. Here, 1198 mid-trimester amniotic fluid samples from a cohort of Swedish women undergoing mid-trimester genetic amniocentesis were screened for bacterial DNA using qPCR protocols specifically designed to reduce the impacts of reagent contamination and human DNA mispriming. The majority of samples were devoid of detectable bacterial DNA; however, approximately a fifth of the cohort (19.9%) were 16S rRNA gene positive in duplicate screening. Among these, nine women had a spontaneous PTD. These nine women were matched with 18 healthy women with a delivery at term. We used PacBio SMRT technology, coupled with appropriate negative extraction and PCR controls, to sequence the full-length 16S rRNA gene in this subset of 27 women. The amniotic fluid samples contained low-abundance and low-diversity bacterial DNA profiles. Species typically associated with spontaneous PTD were absent. We were not able to identify any differences in the amniotic fluid bacterial DNA profiles of women with a subsequent spontaneous PTD compared to women who delivered at term. The findings suggest that, in a minor proportion of pregnancies, DNA from non-pathogenic bacteria may be present in the amniotic fluid far earlier than previously reported. Early detection of bacterial DNA in the amniotic fluid was, in this study, not associated with spontaneous PTD.
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| 10. |
- Thorell, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity is associated with impaired cognitive and motor function at school age in preterm children.
- 2020
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Ingår i: Pediatric research. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1530-0447 .- 0031-3998. ; 87:5, s. 924-931
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Chorioamnionitis is an important cause of preterm delivery. Data on neurodevelopmental outcome in exposed infants are inconsistent due to difficulties in diagnosing intrauterine infection/inflammation and lack of detailed long-term follow-up. We investigate cognitive and motor function in preterm infants at early school age and relate the findings to bacteria in amniotic fluid obtained by amniocentesis (microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity (MIAC)) or placenta findings of histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) or fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS).Sixty-six infants with gestational age <34 weeks at birth and without major disabilities were assessed using WISC-III and the Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency. Results were corrected for gestational age and sex.Children exposed to MIAC had significantly lower scores for full-scale IQ and verbal IQ compared to the non-MIAC group and the difference in full-scale IQ remained after correction for confounding factors. The MIAC group had also significantly lower motor scores after correction. In contrast, motor function was not affected in infants exposed to HCA or FIRS and differences between groups for cognitive scores were lost after corrections.Exposure to bacteria in amniotic fluid is associated with lower motor and cognitive scores in school age preterm infants without major disabilities.
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