Healthcare providers currently have no way to predict preterm birth, which refers to births that occur before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Some infants born preterm do not survive, and others need intensive care or have lasting health challenges. A team of scientists supported by NICHD through the Human Placenta Project (HPP) is defining molecular signatures of placentas from term and preterm births. Ultimately the researchers hope to identify mechanisms of preterm birth, learn how to diagnose it early, and find ways to prevent it—possibly by treating the placenta itself.
Signs of Early Placenta Aging
The placenta grows, remodels, and matures during fetal development. Early maturation appears to coincide with birth in some unexplained preterm births. In a study led by Helen Jones, Ph.D., and her team, researchers identified molecular signatures of premature maturation in placentas from a subset of preterm births—idiopathic spontaneous preterm births (isPTB). This type of preterm birth displays no signs of infection, preeclampsia, or other known causes for the premature ending of the pregnancy.
Discovering Therapeutic Targets
The research team is using placentomics—transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics of the placenta—to reveal the underlying mechanisms of placental maturation. Transcriptomics refers to the study of all the RNA molecules in a cell, proteomics focuses on the proteins, and metabolomics examines the metabolites. Together, these omics tell researchers what cells are making and doing at a point in time. Transcription, translation, and metabolism change over time as a cell’s function changes. In this case, scientists are looking at cells of the placenta and determing what RNA, proteins, and metabolites are present. This information will help researchers gain clues about the functional changes occurring as the placenta matures and prepares to be expelled during birth. Researchers hope to find therapeutic targets by understanding the placentomics of isPTB and normal births.
Learn more about the team
Principal Investigator(s):
Learn more about the HPP-funded project:
Harnessing “omics”: A systems biology approach to discovery of biological pathways in placental development
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