Emerging technologies for the identification of therapeutic targets for the management of pre-eclampsia

Abstract

Pre-eclampsia is a common and serious complication of pregnancy characterised by hypertension and proteinuria. Genetic and environmental factors influence the occurrence and progression of the disease. Emerging experimental systems and increasingly specific analytical methods for the study of differences between normal and pre-eclamptic placentae are close to identifying specific indicators of disease, which may allow early diagnosis and intervention and reveal targets against which therapeutic agents can be developed.

• animal models
• laser capture microdissection (LCM)
• microarray
• pre-eclampsia
• proteomics