The cerebrospinal fluid proteome of preterm infants predicts neurodevelopmental outcome

• Published in: Frontiers in Pediatrics
• Main Authors: Leifsdottir, Kristin, Jost, Kerstin, Siljehav, Veronica, Thelin, Eric P., Lassarén, Philipp, Nilsson, Peter, Haraldsson, Ásgeir, Eksborg, Staffan, Herlenius, Eric
• Other Authors: Women's and Childrens's Services, Faculty of Medicine
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: cerebrospinal fluid; neonatal sepsis; neurodevelopmental outcome; outcome prediction; preterm infant; proteomic profile; Pediatrics; Perinatology and Child Health; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/3799; https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2022.921444

Funding Information: This study was funded by the Karolinska Institutet, the University Hospital of Iceland and the Swedish Society for Medical Research, the Swedish Brain Foundation (FO2019-0087 and FO2019-0006), Strategic Research Area Neuroscience (StratNeuro), Ehrling-Person Family Foundation, Axel Tielmans, Freemasons Children’s House, the Swedish National Heart and Lung (20180505) Foundations, the Swedish Research Council (2019-01157), and the Stockholm County Council (20190400). KJ received funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (Postdoc Mobility Fellowship, P400PM_194474. The funders did not participate in the design or conduct of the study. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Leifsdottir, Jost, Siljehav, Thelin, Lassarén, Nilsson, Haraldsson, Eksborg and Herlenius. Background: Survival rate increases for preterm infants, but long-term neurodevelopmental outcome predictors are lacking. Our primary aim was to determine whether a specific proteomic profile in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of preterm infants differs from that of term infants and to identify novel biomarkers of neurodevelopmental outcome in preterm infants. Methods: Twenty-seven preterm infants with median gestational age 27 w + 4 d and ten full-term infants were enrolled prospectively. Protein profiling of CSF were performed utilizing an antibody suspension bead array. The relative levels of 178 unique brain derived proteins and inflammatory mediators, selected from the Human Protein Atlas, were measured. Results: The CSF protein profile of preterm infants differed from that of term infants. Increased levels of brain specific proteins that are associated with neurodevelopment and neuroinflammatory pathways made up a distinct protein profile in the preterm infants. The most significant differences were seen in proteins involved in neurodevelopmental regulation and synaptic plasticity, as well as components of the innate immune system. Several proteins correlated with favorable outcome in preterm infants at 18–24 months corrected ...