HtrA3 as an early marker for preeclampsia: specific monoclonal antibodies and sensitive high-throughput assays for serum screening

PLoS One. 2012;7(9):e45956. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0045956. Epub 2012 Sep 25.

Abstract

Mammalian HtrA3 (high temperature requirement A3) is a serine protease of the HtrA family. It has two isoforms [long (HtrA3-L) and short (HtrA3-S)] and is important for placental development and cancer progression. Recently, HtrA3 was identified as a potential diagnostic marker for early detection of preeclampsia, a life-threatening pregnancy-specific disorder. Currently there are no high-throughput assays available to detect HtrA3 in human serum. In this study we generated and fully tested a panel of five HtrA3 mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Three mAbs recognised both HtrA3-L and HtrA3-S and the other two detected HtrA3-L only. All five mAbs were highly specific to HtrA3 and applicable in western blotting and immunohistochemical analysis of endogenous HtrA3 proteins in the mouse and human tissues. Amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assays-linked immunosorbent assays (AlphaLISAs), were developed to detect HtrA3 isoforms in picomolar levels in serum. The HtrA3 AlphaLISA detected significantly higher serum levels of HtrA3 in women at 13-14 weeks of gestation who subsequently developed preeclampsia compared to gestational-age matched controls. These HtrA3 mAbs are valuable for the development of immunoassays and characterisation of HtrA3 isoform-specific biology. The newly developed HtrA3 AlphaLISA assays are suitable for large scale screening of human serum.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Monoclonal / chemistry*
  • Endometrium / metabolism
  • Epitope Mapping / methods
  • Epitopes / chemistry
  • Female
  • Gestational Age
  • Humans
  • Immunoassay / methods
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Knockout
  • Pre-Eclampsia / diagnosis*
  • Pre-Eclampsia / metabolism*
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Trimester, Second
  • Protein Isoforms
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Recombinant Proteins / chemistry
  • Serine Endopeptidases / metabolism*
  • Tissue Distribution
  • Trophoblasts / cytology
  • Uterus / metabolism

Substances

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal
  • Epitopes
  • Protein Isoforms
  • Recombinant Proteins
  • HTRA3 protein, human
  • Serine Endopeptidases

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia [Fellowship #494808 (to GN) and Program grant #494802], Australian Academy of Science exchange program with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (to GN), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation [OPP1025076 (to GN)] and the Victorian Government’s Operational Infrastructure Support Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Prince Henry’s Institute data audit number for this work is 12-04.