Cambridge researchers identify protein linked to pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction
Researchers at the University of Cambridge found that low circulating levels of isthmin-2 (ISM2) protein around 12 weeks of pregnancy was the strongest indicator that a pregnancy would develop pre-eclampsia or fetal growth restriction, conditions affecting approximately one in 20 and 3-10% of pregnancies respectively. Laboratory experiments showed that human trophoblast stem cells lacking ISM2 failed to develop into invasive extravillous trophoblast cells needed to establish placental blood supply, while kidney cells engineered to produce ISM2 became more invasive. The findings, published in Nature Medicine, suggest ISM2 could enable better early identification of at-risk pregnancies and potentially lead to treatments to prevent these conditions.
