OS046. Genome-wide association scans identify novel maternalsusceptibility loci for preeclampsia

Association of family history with incidence and gestational hypertension outcomes of preeclampsia

Background

Gestational hypertension and preeclampsia are hypertensive disorders related to pregnancy that can cause maternal morbidity and fetal growth retardation. The association of these disorders with family history remains unclear.

Objectives

To examine the degree of family aggregation of preeclampsia and gestational hypertension in Taiwan.

Methods

The study was conducted using the data from the National Health Insurance Database of Taiwan. Delivery events in Taiwan from 1999 to 2013 were collected. Preeclampsia was identified based on the hospital diagnosis of index delivery. The family aggregation pattern of preeclampsia was assessed and analyzed using the relationship registered in the database with the patients.

Results

A total of 60,314 preeclampsia events were identified among 4,091,641 deliveries, accounting for 1.5% of the cohort. The incidence of preeclampsia increased with maternal age. A total of 768 preeclampsia events occurred in mothers who had a sororal history of preeclampsia (n = 20,704), accounting for 1.3% of all preeclampsia events (n = 60,314). Mothers who had a sororal history of preeclampsia had a relative risk (RR) of 2.6 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.41-2.80) for preeclampsia compared with mothers who did not have a sororal history of preeclampsia. The RR for gestational hypertension was 2.79 (95% CI: 2.36-3.3) in mothers with a positive sororal history of gestational hypertension.

Conclusions

Having a sororal history of preeclampsia was a strong risk factor for preeclampsia and gestational hypertension in mothers in Taiwan. The pattern of family aggregation was similar at all maternal ages.

The prediction of early preeclampsia: Results from a longitudinal proteomics study

OBJECTIVES

To identify maternal plasma protein markers for early preeclampsia (delivery <34 weeks of gestation) and to determine whether the prediction performance is affected by disease severity and presence of placental lesions consistent with maternal vascular malperfusion (MVM) among cases.

STUDY DESIGN

This longitudinal case-control study included 90 patients with a normal pregnancy and 33 patients with early preeclampsia. Two to six maternal plasma samples were collected throughout gestation from each woman. The abundance of 1,125 proteins was measured using high-affinity aptamer-based proteomic assays, and data were modeled using linear mixed-effects models. After data transformation into multiples of the mean values for gestational age, parsimonious linear discriminant analysis risk models were fit for each gestational-age interval (8-16, 16.1-22, 22.1-28, 28.1-32 weeks). Proteomic profiles of early preeclampsia cases were also compared to those of a combined set of controls and late preeclampsia cases (n = 76) reported previously. Prediction performance was estimated via bootstrap.

RESULTS

We found that 1) multi-protein models at 16.1-22 weeks of gestation predicted early preeclampsia with a sensitivity of 71% at a false-positive rate (FPR) of 10%. High abundance of matrix metalloproteinase-7 and glycoprotein IIbIIIa complex were the most reliable predictors at this gestational age; 2) at 22.1-28 weeks of gestation, lower abundance of placental growth factor (PlGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor A, isoform 121 (VEGF-121), as well as elevated sialic acid binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 6 (siglec-6) and activin-A, were the best predictors of the subsequent development of early preeclampsia (81% sensitivity, FPR = 10%); 3) at 28.1-32 weeks of gestation, the sensitivity of multi-protein models was 85% (FPR = 10%) with the best predictors being activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule, siglec-6, and VEGF-121; 4) the increase in siglec-6, activin-A, and VEGF-121 at 22.1-28 weeks of gestation differentiated women who subsequently developed early preeclampsia from those who had a normal pregnancy or developed late preeclampsia (sensitivity 77%, FPR = 10%); 5) the sensitivity of risk models was higher for early preeclampsia with placental MVM lesions than for the entire early preeclampsia group (90% versus 71% at 16.1-22 weeks; 87% versus 81% at 22.1-28 weeks; and 90% versus 85% at 28.1-32 weeks, all FPR = 10%); and 6) the sensitivity of prediction models was higher for severe early preeclampsia than for the entire early preeclampsia group (84% versus 71% at 16.1-22 weeks).

CONCLUSION

We have presented herein a catalogue of proteome changes in maternal plasma proteome that precede the diagnosis of preeclampsia and can distinguish among early and late phenotypes. The sensitivity of maternal plasma protein models for early preeclampsia is higher in women with underlying vascular placental disease and in those with a severe phenotype.