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Proteome Analysis of Daily Urine Samples of Pregnant Rats Unveils Developmental Processes of Fetus as Well as Physiological Changes in Mother Rats
1
Gene Engineering Drug and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100871, China
2
Beijing Qinglian Biotech Co., Ltd., Beijing 100094, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Biology 2025, 14(12), 1700; https://doi.org/10.3390/biology14121700 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 13 August 2025
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Revised: 13 November 2025
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Accepted: 15 November 2025
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Published: 28 November 2025
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Biology of Animal Reproduction)
Simple Summary
Monitoring the dynamic changes in the mother and embryo during pregnancy is crucial for ensuring a smooth pregnancy. However, there are still difficulties in conducting early monitoring of these changes, and there are many limitations in directly conducting dynamic human pregnancy research. To address this issue, this study selected rats as experimental subjects. By analyzing the changes in urine proteome after pregnancy, we explored the dynamic changes in biological processes during pregnancy and embryo development. We collected urine samples from rats every day after pregnancy and used proteomics technology to compare the differences in proteins between pregnant rats and normal rats. Eventually, we found that some proteins showed significant changes along with the rat pregnancy process, and these changes could reflect fetal development and the physiological states of the mother adjusting to pregnancy, etc. This research not only provides a new basis for understanding the physiological changes in the mother during pregnancy but also offers important references for further exploring the mechanisms of pregnancy-related diseases in humans and developing indicators for pregnancy monitoring.
Abstract
Significant physiological changes occur in both the fetus and the mother during pregnancy. Urine proteins have been shown to reflect a wide range of physiological and pathological changes in the body. This study employed low-abundance protein-enriched magnetic nanobeads to conduct an in-depth analysis of the daily changes in urine proteins throughout the entire pregnancy of rats. Based on the 3455 identified urine proteins, fetal and maternal dynamic changes were observed in the pregnancy group compared to the control group, including blastocyst formation and cell division in the early stage of pregnancy. In addition, the morphogenesis- and development-related organs and tissues are significantly enriched at different stages of pregnancy. The 9th day after pregnancy is the stage when organ development is most concentrated, especially the nervous system and vasculature development. During the late stage of pregnancy, maternal-specific changes were observed, such as lactation. These results indicate that urine protein can reflect the fetal and maternal dynamic physiological alterations during pregnancy, which suggests the potential value of urine protein analysis in pregnancy health monitoring. It is emphasized that the analysis focuses on the daily variations in the urine proteins, as these daily changes are expected to reveal more dynamic and detailed information about the physiological processes during pregnancy.
Keywords:
urine; proteomics; pregnancy
