Sexual Disorders Online Journals

Burgeoning evidence is now pointing towards a potential role of the ADAM12 gene in preeclampsia. A closer scrutiny of this evidence, however, shows that many important questions remain unanswered. As a result, the genetic jigsaw of preeclampsia is a poser far from solved. Continued efforts are required to investigate this gene, especially in the context of its involvement in the transforming growth factor signaling pathway. Together, the existing evidence cannot be considered to be adequate to recommend ADAM12s as a biomarker of preeclampsia at present. On the other hand, the consistency with which several authors have found ADAM12 alterations in preeclampsia cannot be ignored. Considering the gestational threats proffered by preeclampsia, it is important that the search for its biomarkers must continue. However, we must also realize that in a living organism no endogenous molecule acts on its own – the molecules are part of coordinated, synchronized and orchestrated signaling mechanisms. Some molecules, like the ADAM12, can appear to be commonly altered in specific conditions but the centrality of these molecules in the pathway should be studied in its entirety. These Usual Suspects must obviously be the first ones to be interrogated but their sleeping partners in crime must also be investigated or, at least, understood. We may be in for surprises since the central molecules in a pathway are only the tips of the iceberg – as researchers, we need to fathom the wholesomeness of the iceberg. ADAM12: The Usual Suspect in Preeclampsia, Hemant Kulkarni.

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Last date updated on September, 2024