Open AccessLipidomic profiling of amniotic fluid and its application in fetal lung maturity prediction
Author(s) -
Cao Zheng,
Liu Jingrui,
Xie Xin,
Zhan Sien,
Song Wei,
Wu Shaowen,
Sun Zheng,
Dong Ying,
Tang Guodong,
Liu Yilin,
Li Lin,
Shen Min,
Zhai Yanhong,
Zou Jihua,
Liu Xiaowei
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of clinical laboratory analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 50
eISSN - 1098-2825
pISSN - 0887-8013
DOI - 10.1002/jcla.23109
Subject(s) - amniotic fluid , sphingomyelin , lecithin , fetus , amniocentesis , gestational age , lamellar granule , chromatography , andrology , chemistry , phosphatidylethanolamine , linoleic acid , phosphatidylcholine , pulmonary surfactant , medicine , phospholipid , biochemistry , biology , pregnancy , fatty acid , cholesterol , prenatal diagnosis , genetics , membrane
Background The pulmonary surfactant especially lipids in amniotic fluid can reflect the development stage of fetal lung maturity (FLM). However, the conventional lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) ratio method by thin layer chromatography (TLC) is insufficient and inconvenient for FLM prediction in clinical practice. Methods The amniotic fluid samples were collected from the pregnant women in labor or undergoing amniocentesis and analyzed for its lipid contents with the liquid chromatography coupled with high‐resolution mass spectrometry (LC‐HRMS) method and the lamellar body count (LBC) method. To reveal the lipidomic profiling of different FLM stages, three groups of amniotic fluid samples including 8 from premature group (gestational week (GW) < 37), 10 from mature group (GW < 37), and 10 from mature group (GW > 38) were compared with the control group (n = 6) of 18 GWs separately. Results In the FLM prediction study, the sensitivity of the LC‐HRMS method and LBC method was 91% and 73%, respectively; the specificity was 100% and 95%, respectively. The most significant metabolic pathway was linoleic acid metabolism between the premature group and the control group. Both glycerophospholipid metabolism and glycosylphosphatidylinositol‐anchor biosynthesis were enriched in the mature groups. In search of potential FLM prediction markers in amniotic fluid, 8 phosphatidylcholines, 1 sphingomyelin, and 1 phosphatidylethanolamine were significantly increased in the mature groups compared with the premature group. Conclusion An efficient LC‐HRMS method for L/S ratio in predicting FLM was established. The linoleic acid metabolism may play an important role in the fetal lung development.