Grant: Operating Grant

The placenta is a vital organ of pregnancy, controlling maternal physiology and providing nutrients and oxygen to the fetus. When placenta development or function is compromised, poor maternal and fetal health outcomes follow. This situation occurs in 3-5% of all pregnancies, leading to potentially life-threatening maternal complications of hypertension and kidney dysfunction known as preeclampsia. There is no cure for this disorder. It is of tremendous importance to obtain a clear understanding of the pathological processes taking place in the placenta in order to generate effective treatments. Part of the difficulty in identifying and treating this disorder is the fact that preeclampsia can come in many different forms, with differences in: the time of onset of the disorder; the effect on fetal growth and health; and the effect on long term health complications in the mother. When a woman is diagnosed with preeclampsia we cannot tell what kind of preeclampsia she will have and therefore cannot predict what types of treatment will be effective in protecting the health of her and her unborn baby. The purpose of this study is to be able to specifically identify different subtypes of preeclampsia. We plan to take an approach that has proven to be effective in identifying and treating specific types cancers. To do this we will examine the placentae of almost 200 women with all types of preeclampsia, and screen for differences in gene expression. We speculate that differences in some genes will be specific to the different kinds of preeclampsia. These differences will provide clues as to the diverse processes within the placenta that are directly involved in promoting the different preeclampsia subtypes. Further, these genes and the proteins they make can be used as markers to help identify what type of preeclampsia a woman has and hopefully allow for tailored therapeutic treatments which will ultimately improve pregnancy outcomes.