4D-DIA proteomic analysis of human placenta in fetal intrauterine growth restriction.

INTRODUTION: Approximately 60% of fetal intrauterine growth restriction (FGR) cases result from placental dysfunction. 4D-DIA proteomic chips can efficiently identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), to explore FGR pathophysiology mechanism caused by placenta dysfuntion. METHODS: This study aimed to identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in placentas from 10 FGR and 10 normal participants using 4D-DIA proteomic chips, by comparing fetal- and maternal-side placental tissues in both groups. GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analyses were applied to interpret the biological functions of DEPs, and ELISA was used to validate candidate proteins in an additional 8 FGR and 10 normal placentas. RESULTS: In total, 249 DEPs were identified between maternal and fetal sides in the control group (CON-M vs CON-F), whereas only 158 DEPs were found in the FGR group (FGR-M vs FGR-F). Between-group comparisons of the same placental side showed 278 DEPs in FGR-F vs CON-F and 157 DEPs in FGR-M vs CON-M. Candidate proteins included PRPF38A(down-regulated), PRPF38B(up-regulated), THOC2(down-regulated) which associate with mRNA splicing via spliceosome and COX6C(down-regulated), COX7B(up-regulated) which participanting in oxidative phosphorylation). DISCUSSION: The fetal placental compartment may be the primary contributor to placental dysfunction, and these proteins may be crucial in FGR pathophysiology, requiring further research.