Background: There is paucity of information on mechanisms constituting adverse birth outcomes. We assessed here the relationship between vascular integrity and adverse birth effects.
Methods and results: Third trimester maternal plasma (n = 144) from the Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals Study (MIREC) was analysed for vascular, inflammatory and oxidative stress markers by HPLC-fluorescence, protein array and EIA method. Analysis of the <25th and >75th percentile birth weight subgroups revealed markers associated with birth weight (ETs, MMP-9, VEGF, and 8-isoPGF-2α) and gestational age (ET-1, MMP-2, and VEGF).
Conclusions: Mechanistic insights into adverse birth outcome pathways can be achieved by integrating information on multiple biomarkers, physiology using systems biology approach.
Keywords: Gestational age; infant birth weight; maternal plasma biomarkers; oxidative stress; vascular function.