Pre-eclampsia discovery could lead to new test and treatments for at-risk pregnancies
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Cambridge scientists, supported by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Cambridge, have identified a key protein that could act as a predictor for pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction, two of the major causes of stillbirth and of sickness among mothers and newborns.
The discovery helps explain why placental cells fail to properly ‘invade’ the uterus in these two related conditions and could lead to the development of tests to help identify those at greatest risk and new treatments for the conditions.
Pre-eclampsia affects around one in 20 pregnancies worldwide and is a leading cause of maternal and fetal health complications, contributing significantly to mortality rates of mothers and babies worldwide.
Fetal growth restriction, where a baby does not reach its biological growth potential in the womb, affects roughly 3% to 10% of pregnancies in high-income countries and up to one in five pregnancies globally. It is a leading cause of complications in the womb and in newborns, including stillbirth.
Both of these conditions are known to be linked to problems with the placenta not developing properly early in pregnancy, in particular a failure of specialised placental cells known as the extravillous trophoblast (EVT) to invade the mother’s womb and establish a healthy blood supply.
Professor Gordon Smith, Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cambridge, said:
“As part of normal development, the placenta invades into the tissues of the mother’s womb. Of all mammals, humans have the deepest placental invasion, which reflects the massive demands of oxygen and nutrients required to manufacture the most complex machine ever known, the human brain.
“When this process goes wrong and specialist placental cells fail to adequately invade the uterus, it results in a placenta and fetus that are deprived of nutrients and oxygen, leading to pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction. But until now, the reason for this failed invasion has been obscure.”
