Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth

Abstract Preterm birth is a global health issue associated with neonatal death and morbidity. However, current methods of predicting preterm birth are insufficient to accurately screen for risk. This study aimed to assess the potential of site-specific N-glycosylation of cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) p...

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Main Authors: Yoon-Young Go, Gun Wook Park, Young Min Hur, Young-Ah You, Gain Lee, Rin Chae, Soo-Min Kim, Sunwha Park, Young Ju Kim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-96682-4
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author Yoon-Young Go
Gun Wook Park
Young Min Hur
Young-Ah You
Gain Lee
Rin Chae
Soo-Min Kim
Sunwha Park
Young Ju Kim
author_facet Yoon-Young Go
Gun Wook Park
Young Min Hur
Young-Ah You
Gain Lee
Rin Chae
Soo-Min Kim
Sunwha Park
Young Ju Kim
author_sort Yoon-Young Go
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Preterm birth is a global health issue associated with neonatal death and morbidity. However, current methods of predicting preterm birth are insufficient to accurately screen for risk. This study aimed to assess the potential of site-specific N-glycosylation of cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) proteins as predictive biomarkers of preterm birth in a case-control study. Statistical analysis used Student’s t-tests, ROC curve and logistic regression adjusted age and BMI. Using N-glycoproteomic analysis of the CVF, we identified 862 N-glycoproteins in CVF samples form 20 pregnancies and 6595 N-linked glycopeptides used a false discovery rate of less than 1%. Of 173 upregulated glycan in preterm group, we found low levels of fucosylation and high levels of sialylation in preterm birth (p < 0.05). Then we found that three poly-sialylated glycans had a high predictive value (AUC = 0.802, p < 0.017), which were expressed in all samples. In addition, the glycan model with clinical markers performed better. The results indicate that poly-sialylated glycans in CVF have potential value as novel clinical markers for predicting preterm birth during pregnancy. This study suggests strategies for developing new predictive biomarkers using cervicovaginal glycans to detect preterm birth in advance.
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spelling doaj-art-a151d8f71cd2483da3019b75330cfb482025-08-20T01:53:11ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-011511910.1038/s41598-025-96682-4Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birthYoon-Young Go0Gun Wook Park1Young Min Hur2Young-Ah You3Gain Lee4Rin Chae5Soo-Min Kim6Sunwha Park7Young Ju Kim8Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityBioinformatics Lab, CellKey IncDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine and Ewha Medical Institute, Ewha Womans UniversityAbstract Preterm birth is a global health issue associated with neonatal death and morbidity. However, current methods of predicting preterm birth are insufficient to accurately screen for risk. This study aimed to assess the potential of site-specific N-glycosylation of cervicovaginal fluid (CVF) proteins as predictive biomarkers of preterm birth in a case-control study. Statistical analysis used Student’s t-tests, ROC curve and logistic regression adjusted age and BMI. Using N-glycoproteomic analysis of the CVF, we identified 862 N-glycoproteins in CVF samples form 20 pregnancies and 6595 N-linked glycopeptides used a false discovery rate of less than 1%. Of 173 upregulated glycan in preterm group, we found low levels of fucosylation and high levels of sialylation in preterm birth (p < 0.05). Then we found that three poly-sialylated glycans had a high predictive value (AUC = 0.802, p < 0.017), which were expressed in all samples. In addition, the glycan model with clinical markers performed better. The results indicate that poly-sialylated glycans in CVF have potential value as novel clinical markers for predicting preterm birth during pregnancy. This study suggests strategies for developing new predictive biomarkers using cervicovaginal glycans to detect preterm birth in advance.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-96682-4Cervicovaginal fluidN-glycoproteomicPreterm birthPoly-sialylated glycanCommunity state type
spellingShingle Yoon-Young Go
Gun Wook Park
Young Min Hur
Young-Ah You
Gain Lee
Rin Chae
Soo-Min Kim
Sunwha Park
Young Ju Kim
Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth
Scientific Reports
Cervicovaginal fluid
N-glycoproteomic
Preterm birth
Poly-sialylated glycan
Community state type
title Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth
title_full Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth
title_fullStr Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth
title_full_unstemmed Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth
title_short Poly-sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth
title_sort poly sialylated glycan of cervicovaginal fluid can be a potential marker of preterm birth
topic Cervicovaginal fluid
N-glycoproteomic
Preterm birth
Poly-sialylated glycan
Community state type
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-96682-4
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