Pregnancy is characterized by intense physiological and structural alterations in the vagina, cervix, and overlying fetal membranes. High vaginal fluid (HVF) is a proximal fluid that covers the lower part of the female reproductive system and the severity of vaginal pathology often adversely affects pregnancy outcomes. To identify the correlation of vaginal fluid proteome dynamics and physiological changes during the progression of pregnancy, a longitudinal study was performed on 20 pregnant women who delivered a baby in >37 weeks without any complications. SWATH-MS-based label-free quantitative proteomics was performed to profile the HVF proteome at three time points defined as V1 (7–12 weeks), V2 (18–20 weeks), and V3 (26–28 weeks). Linear mixed-effect models were used to estimate protein abundance as a function of the period of gestational age. In this study, we identified 1015 HVF proteins and 61 of them were significantly altered until late second trimester. Our result demonstrates that the HVF proteins reveal gestational age-specific expression patterns and the function of these proteins is associated with tissue remodeling, organ development, and microbial defense. Our study provides an opportunity to monitor the underlying physiology of pregnancy that may be further probed for the biomarker identification in pregnancy-related adverse outcomes. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifiers PXD014846 and PXD021811.

中文翻译：

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妊娠早期和中期中期阴道分泌蛋白质组的动态变化

怀孕的特征是阴道，子宫颈和胎儿胎膜的强烈生理和结构改变。高阴道液（HVF）是一种覆盖女性生殖系统下部的近端液，阴道病理的严重程度通常会对妊娠结局产生不利影响。为了确定妊娠过程中阴道液体蛋白质组动力学和生理变化之间的相关性，对20例在> 37周内分娩但没有任何并发​​症的孕妇进行了纵向研究。进行了基于SWATH-MS的无标记定量蛋白质组学分析，以在三个时间点对HVF蛋白质组进行分析，这三个时间点分别为V1（7-12周），V2（18-20周）和V3（26-28周）。使用线性混合效应模型来估计蛋白质丰度与胎龄的函数。在这项研究中，我们鉴定了1015 HVF蛋白，其中61个蛋白发生了显着改变，直到中晚期。我们的结果表明，HVF蛋白揭示了特定于妊娠年龄的表达模式，这些蛋白的功能与组织重塑，器官发育和微生物防御相关。我们的研究为监测妊娠的潜在生理提供了机会，可以进一步探讨妊娠相关不良结局中生物标志物的鉴定。数据可通过ProteomeXchange获得，其标识符为PXD014846和PXD021811。我们的结果表明，HVF蛋白揭示了特定于妊娠年龄的表达模式，这些蛋白的功能与组织重塑，器官发育和微生物防御相关。我们的研究为监测妊娠的潜在生理提供了机会，可以进一步探讨妊娠相关不良结局中生物标志物的鉴定。数据可通过ProteomeXchange获得，其标识符为PXD014846和PXD021811。我们的结果表明，HVF蛋白揭示了特定于妊娠年龄的表达模式，这些蛋白的功能与组织重塑，器官发育和微生物防御相关。我们的研究为监测妊娠的潜在生理提供了机会，可以进一步探讨妊娠相关不良结局中生物标志物的鉴定。数据可通过ProteomeXchange获得，其标识符为PXD014846和PXD021811。