In this study, we aimed to detect the level of total circulating microparticles (MPs) in pregnant women with preeclampsia (PE) and analyze the proteome of MPs to explore their roles in the pathogenesis and progression of PE.

98 pregnant women with PE, 54 healthy pregnant women, and 51 healthy non-pregnant women were enrolled from December 2016 to June 2018, whose MP levels were detected by flow cytometry and compared. Proteins extracted from the MPs were analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.

The total MP level of the healthy pregnant group was significantly higher than thatof the non-pregnant group [159.87 (113.25, 218.18)/μl vs 94.10 (53.35, 140.23)/μl, P=0.004], but was not significantly different from that of the PE group. By proteomic profiling, 30 differential proteins were obtained between healthy pregnant women and healthy non-pregnant women, which were closely related to biological processes such as complements, coagulation cascades, angiogenesis and so on; 14 differential proteins were found between PE patients and healthy pregnant women, which were closely related to biological processes such as coagulation cascades, complements and inflammatory reactions, angiogenesis and so forth.

The level of circulating MPs may reflect the hypercoagulability of preeclampsia. In addition, circulating MPs may be involved in the pathogenesis of PE through various pathways by carrying different proteins, which indicates their potential value in the intervention of PE.

Pre-eclampsia; Cell-derived microparticles; Thrombophilia; Proteomics