Metabolomics analysis of hair in pregnant women with pregnancy complications due to abnormal implantation and placentation

Pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia (PE) and HELLP syndrome, have adverse effects on the health of both mother and fetus during pregnancy, and thereafter. These complications are the leading causes of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. These are pregnancy-specific diseases which occur with similar pathophysiological mechanisms. In this study, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used in hair samples of newborn mothers, in order to identify robust biomarkers that can be used for screening, early detection, follow-up and treatment of PE, which etiology is still unknown and which has negative effects on the health of both mother and fetus. The hair metabolome has been recognized as a valuable source of information in pregnancy research, as it provides stable metabolite information that could assist with studying biomarkers or metabolic mechanisms of pregnancy and its complications. The aim of this study was to investigate hair metabolom profile of pregnant women with PE and healthy woman. 29 PE patients and 21 kontrols were included into this study. Hair samples were taken from the participants and divided into 3 cm segments according to pregnancy trimesters. The hair samples were analysed using GC-MS. The results showed a significant change compared to the trimesters. As a result of comparing the metabolome profiles of the patient and control groups, a striking decrease was observed in all 100 metabolites investigated in the patient group (p<0,000). The metabolic pathways associated with significant metabolites have also been investigated, and it has been observed that the most affected pathways are the urea cycle, glycine, serine, aspartate, methionine purine metabolism, ammonia cycle, phosphatidylethionine biosynthesis. The found metabolites provide us with extensive data on the ability to establish biomarkers for predicting, early detection and monitoring of PE. Key words: Metabolomics, Hair, Preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome, GC-MS