TP53BP2 is associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of PE
To explore the clinical significance of TP53BP2 in the progression of PE, we collected 85 placentas from early-onset PE pregnancies (<34 weeks of gestation, n=45) and non-PE pregnancies (n=40). The pathological characteristics of these pregnancies are presented in Table 1. There was no significant difference in maternal age or fetal sex between PE pregnancies and non-PE pregnancies (P>0.05). However, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, as well as proteinuria, were significantly increased in PE pregnancies (P<0.0001). Additionally, there was a significant difference in maternal body mass index (BMI) between PE pregnancies and non-PE pregnancies (P<0.05). Moreover, compared with non-PE pregnancies, PE pregnancies were associated with decreased gestational age at delivery and lower neonatal birth weight (P<0.05), indicating that these clinicopathological parameters were in accordance with the diagnostic criteria. To evaluate the significance of TP53BP2 in placental dysfunction, we analyzed the correlation between TP53BP2 and LC3B-II and p62 in placentas. The results revealed a positive association between TP53BP2 levels and LC3B-II levels in both PE and non-PE pregnancies but a negative correlation with p62 (Figure 4A, B). Additionally, TP53BP2 levels in placentas were positively correlated with systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and BMI but negatively correlated with gestational age at delivery and neonatal birth weight (Figure 4C-G ). Furthermore, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis demonstrated that TP53BP2 had the highest area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.882 for diagnosing PE pregnancies (Figure 4H). Taken together, these results suggest that TP53BP2 could serve as a predictive biomarker associated with the clinicopathological characteristics of PE pregnancies.