Background Early detection/diagnosis of pre-eclampsia allows appropriate monitoring and targeting of therapeutic strategies. Urinary proteomics is a rapidly advancing technique which gives functional insight into gene expression in living organisms. Urine is an ideal medium for study as it is readily available, easily obtained, less complex than other bodily fluids and potentially a rich source of biomarkers.

Hypothesis A distinctive pre-eclampsia urinary proteome profile compared to gestation matched controls can be identified using this methodology.

Methods A proteome profile for time-of-disease urine samples from six preeclamptic and six gestation-matched controls was established using a validated workflow including selective immunodepletion, 1D SDS-PAGE gel fractionation, in-gel digestion of gel sections, LC-MS/MS analysis, spectral analysis and selection of candidate proteins for selective reaction monitoring (SRM) verification.

Results 327 proteins were identified using minimal stringency in Scaffold. SRM peaks of proteotypic peptides showed six proteins were present only in pre-eclamptic urine samples and an additional single protein was present in controls and absent from preeclamptic samples. For protection of intellectual property protein identities are intentionally omitted.

Conclusions A urinary proteomic signature can be identified in time-of-disease pre-eclampsia samples. Validation of this proteomic profile and identification of a similar mid-trimester signature for prediction of pre-eclampsia will facilitate stratification of care and surveillance.