Translational Systems Pharmacology Studies in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Pregnancy involves rapid physiological adaptation and complex interplay between mother and fetus. New analytic technologies provide large amounts of genomic, proteomic, and metabolomics data. The integration of these data through bioinformatics, statistical, and systems pharmacology techniques can improve our understanding of the mechanisms of normal maternal physiologic changes and fetal development. New insights into the mechanisms of pregnancy-related disorders, such as preterm birth (PTB), may lead to the development of new therapeutic interventions and novel biomarkers.

Figure 1

PubMed citations per year relating to (a) genomic, (b) proteomic, and (c) metabolomic studies in pregnancy (gray line). For comparison, the black line represents all genomic, proteomic, or metabolomics studies in PubMed and the dashed line indicates those studies relating to oncology.

Figure 2

Complex pathophysiology of preterm birth (PTB). Systems pharmacology approaches can integrate data from genomic, proteomic, metabolomic, clinical, in vitro, and animal studies to improve understanding and optimize therapy for PTB.