Title: Characterisation of human tissue-specific proteomes to inform the development of new treatments for pregnancy complications
Funder: Action Medical Research

Abstract: Background_x000D_ Spontaneous preterm birth has remained for many decades the major pregnancy complication associated with serious illness or death for newborn babies. Around 60,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK each year and sadly, more than 1,000 die as a result of being born too soon. Children who survive have an increased risk of cerebral palsy, visual impairment, hearing loss and learning difficulties. One way of preventing or delaying preterm birth would be to give drugs which prevent the uterus from contracting. However, there is currently no safe and effective drug that can reliably prevent premature contractions without causing side effects for the mother or baby. For example, many drugs which stop the uterus contracting may also relax blood vessels and affect blood flow to the uterus or placenta, potentially putting the baby at risk. _x000D_ _x000D_ The research project _x000D_ These researchers want to find a way to target the muscles of the uterus without affecting other important tissues. They plan to look at the protein components of three different tissues: the muscles of the uterus, the arteries bringing blood to the uterus and the arteries bringing blood to the placenta. They have already demonstrated that these tissues react differently to certain drugs and they now want to see if they can find differences in their protein content and activity. Using advanced laboratory techniques, they will characterise thousands of proteins in each tissue and see if it is possible to identify protein signatures that distinguish the muscles of the uterus from uterine or placental blood vessels. This information could guide the development of new strategies which specifically target the muscles of the uterus, such as the development of drugs that target uterine-enriched proteins or through re-purposing existing drugs. This research could ultimately lead to safer and more effective treatments for spontaneous preterm birth. _x000D_ _x000D_ Action Medical Research and Borne are jointly funding this research.

Lay abstract: Background_x000D_ Spontaneous preterm birth has remained for many decades the major pregnancy complication associated with serious illness or death for newborn babies. Around 60,000 babies are born prematurely in the UK each year and sadly, more than 1,000 die as a result of being born too soon. Children who survive have an increased risk of cerebral palsy, visual impairment, hearing loss and learning difficulties. One way of preventing or delaying preterm birth would be to give drugs which prevent the uterus from contracting. However, there is currently no safe and effective drug that can reliably prevent premature contractions without causing side effects for the mother or baby. For example, many drugs which stop the uterus contracting may also relax blood vessels and affect blood flow to the uterus or placenta, potentially putting the baby at risk. _x000D_ _x000D_ The research project _x000D_ These researchers want to find a way to target the muscles of the uterus without affecting other important tissues. They plan to look at the protein components of three different tissues: the muscles of the uterus, the arteries bringing blood to the uterus and the arteries bringing blood to the placenta. They have already demonstrated that these tissues react differently to certain drugs and they now want to see if they can find differences in their protein content and activity. Using advanced laboratory techniques, they will characterise thousands of proteins in each tissue and see if it is possible to identify protein signatures that distinguish the muscles of the uterus from uterine or placental blood vessels. This information could guide the development of new strategies which specifically target the muscles of the uterus, such as the development of drugs that target uterine-enriched proteins or through re-purposing existing drugs. This research could ultimately lead to safer and more effective treatments for spontaneous preterm birth. _x000D_ _x000D_ Action Medical Research and Borne are jointly funding this research.

Research activity codes: 1.1 NORMAL BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTIONING
Health categories: REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH AND CHILDBIRTH