The present invention relates to an immunoassay method for placental growth factor 2 (PlGF-2) detection in pregnant subjects. Furthermore the invention relates to the use of said method for the diagnosis, prognosis, risk assessment and therapy control of prenatal disorders comprising the determination of the level of PlGF-2 in said pregnant subjects.

The present invention provides polymersomes comprising amphiphilic block-copolymers and their use to quantify ammonia in samples (e.g., body fluid samples). More particularly, it provides a polymersome comprising (a) a membrane, which comprises a block copolymer of poly(styrene) (PS) and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), wherein the PS/PEO molecular weight ratio is higher than 1.0 and lower than 4.0; and (b) a core which encloses an acid and at least one pH-sensitive dye. Compositions, strips and kits comprising the polymersomes are also provided along with methods of quantifying ammonia in a sample using the polymersomes, compositions and kit.

Multiparametric analysis is performed at the single cell level of biological samples obtained from an individual during pregnancy to obtain a determination of changes in immune cell subsets, which changes include, without limitation, altered activation states of proteins involved in signaling pathways. Changes occur in signaling pathways of these immune cells that are predictive of propensity to develop preeclampsia in the pregnancy.

Described is a method of diagnosis or prognosis of preeclampsia in a pregnant subject, comprising providing a sample from a pregnant subject and measuring the ratio between the amount of (a) one or both of sFlt-1 and PlGF, and (b) one or both of a breakdown product of heme and a breakdown product of arginine, in the sample. Also described are assay kits and a computer adapted for use in the method. Also described is a method of treating preeclampsia, comprising administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of L-arginine and/or citrulline and an inhibitor of arginase or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. Also described is a method of treating cancer, comprising treating a subject with a therapeutically effective amount of an anti-VEGF compound, L-arginine and an arginase inhibitor.

Diagnostic methods and tools relating to diagnosing whether a pregnant subject is at risk for developing preeclampsia and/or early-onset preeclampsia within a short period of time. The methods include determining the amounts of the biomarkers sFlt-1 or Endoglin and PIGF in a first and a second sample of said subject, said first sample being obtained prior to said second sample; calculating a first ratio from the amounts of sFlt-1 or Endoglin and PIGF determined in the first sample, and a second ratio from the amounts of sFlt-1 or Endoglin and PIGF determined in the second sample; and comparing the value of the first and the second ratio, whereby a subject being at risk for developing preeclampsia within a short period of time is diagnosed if the value of the second ratio is increased compared to the value of the first ratio by a factor of at least about 3.

A method for predicting risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in a pregnant individual includes measuring one or more biochemical markers in a blood sample obtained from the pregnant individual to determine one or more biomarker levels, where the one or more measured biochemical markers includes at least one of PAI-2 and sTNFR1, identifying, for each of the one or more measured biochemical markers, a difference between the measured biomarker level and a corresponding predetermined control level, and, responsive to the identifying, determining a prediction corresponding to a relative risk of the pregnant individual having or developing GDM.

Methods and kits for isolating at least one of a plurality of single circulating trophoblasts (cTBs) and a plurality of clustered circulating trophoblasts (cTBs) from a blood sample and determining whether a subject has a placenta accrete spectrum (PAS) disorders.

The disclosure provides for a newborn metabolic vulnerability profile that can be used to evaluate risk for neonatal mortality and major morbidity in preterm infants, methods of using said model for precision clinical monitoring and targeted investigation of etiologic pathways to reduce the incidence and severity of major morbidities associated with preterm birth.

This disclosure provides microRNA (miRNA)-based tests and treatment protocols for identifying and/or treating pregnant human beings at risk for a placental bed disorder during pregnancy, as well as reagents and/or kits relating to the same.

A method of processing of a biological sample containing multiple metabolites is described The method comprising the steps of pre-treating the biological sample with a metabolite extraction solvent to provide a pre-treated sample, separating a first aliquot of the pre-treated sample by reverse phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) to provide a first eluent containing resolved hydrophobic metabolites, and separating a second aliquot of the pre-treated sample by hydrophilic interaction liquid interaction chromatography (HILIC) to provide a second eluent containing resolved hydrophilic metabolites. The first and second eluents are assayed using targeted tandem mass spectroscopy operated in multiple reaction monitoring mode. Each liquid chromatography step(LC) is directly hyphenated with the tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) into a single LC-MS/MS analysis. The extraction solvent typically comprises methanol, isopropanol and an acetate buffer.