Towards biomarker-based tests that can facilitate decisions about prevention and management of preeclampsia in low-resource settings.

In recent years, an increasing amount of literature is emerging on candidate urine and blood-based biomarkers associated with incidence and severity of preeclampsia (PE) in pregnant women. While enthusiasm on the usefulness of several of these markers in predicting PE is evolving, essentially all work so far has focused on the needs of high-resource settings and high-income countries, resulting primarily in multi-parameter laboratory assays based on proteomic and metabolomics analysis techniques. These highly complex methods, however, require laboratory capabilities that are rarely available or affordable in low-resource settings (LRS).

Prioritizing investments in innovations to protect women from the leading causes of maternal death.

PATH, an international nonprofit organization, assessed nearly 40 technologies for their potential to reduce maternal mortality from postpartum hemorrhage and preeclampsia and eclampsia in low-resource settings. The evaluation used a new Excel-based prioritization tool covering 22 criteria developed by PATH, the Maternal and Neonatal Directed Assessment of Technology (MANDATE) model, and consultations with experts. It identified five innovations with especially high potential: technologies to improve use of oxytocin, a uterine balloon tamponade, simplified dosing of magnesium sulfate, an improved proteinuria test, and better blood pressure measurement devices.

High affinity binding of Dab1 to Reelin receptors promotes normal positioning of upper layer cortical plate neurons.

The positions of neurons in the neocortex, hippocampus, cerebellum and various other laminated brain regions are regulated by a signaling pathway initiated by the secreted protein Reelin and requiring the intracellular adaptor protein Dab1. Dab1 and the Reelin receptors VLDLR and ApoER2 are expressed by neurons whose migrations are coordinated by Reelin. In vitro, Dab1 binds with high affinity to the cytoplasmic tails of VLDLR and ApoER2 via its PTB domain.

A hypomorphic allele of dab1 reveals regional differences in reelin-Dab1 signaling during brain development.

The disabled 1 (Dab1) p80 protein is essential for reelin signaling during brain development. p80 has an N-terminal domain for association with reelin receptors, followed by reelin-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation sites and about 310 C-terminal residues of unknown function. We have generated mutant mice that express only a natural splice form of Dab1, p45, that lacks the C-terminal region of p80.