Figure 2

Proteomic and bioinformatic analysis of maternal plasma exosomes throughout gestation. All fold change values were relative to NP exosomes. For IPA, proteins included had ±1.5-fold change relative to the NP controls and a P-value < 0.01. (A) Heatmap to visually represent differentially-expressed exosome proteins (912) throughout gestation. Green is an increased fold change, while red is a decreased fold change. (B) Graphical representation of the top three canonical pathways identified during late gestation: acute-phase response signaling (top), liver X receptor/retinoid X receptor (LXR/RXR, middle), and coagulation (bottom). These pathways are associated with inflammation and increased between E13–E18, peaked on E18, then decreased postpartum. The x-axis represents gestation day, and the y-axis represents −log (q-value). Green represents a positive Z-score (upregulation), while red represents a negative Z-score (downregulation). (C) Heatmap of the top biological functions associated with exosomal cargo on each gestation day shows inflammatory pathways and recruitment of leukocytes and other immune cells increasing throughout gestation, peaking on E18, and decreasing postpartum. Green represents a positive Z-score (upregulation), while red represents a negative Z-score (downregulation). (D) Graphical representation of well-reported inflammatory changes during mouse pregnancy, which are also reflected in exosomes throughout gestation. Gestation days are not drawn to scale.