Immunological maladaptation preceding spontaneous preterm birth in human pregnancies
Data files
Jun 11, 2026 version files 29.19 GB
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PRINCE_Immunome_ICP_Raw_fcs.zip
7.88 GB
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PRINCE_Immunome_ICP.csv
7.06 MB
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PRINCE_Immunome_Phospho_Raw_fcs.zip
21.25 GB
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PRINCE_Immunome_Phosphos_FREQ.csv
4.88 MB
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PRINCE_Immunome_Phosphos_MEDIAN.csv
45.56 MB
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PRINCE_Proteome.csv
1.45 MB
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README.md
6.22 KB
Abstract
The majority of spontaneous preterm births (sPTB) occurs without identifiable clinical indications or apparent risk factors. A dysregulated maternal immune adaptation at delivery has been associated with sPTB. Yet, a precise understanding of maternal immune dynamics preceding sPTB is currently lacking. Here we show, in a nested case-control study within a low-risk, population-based pregnancy cohort, that an abnormal immune adaptation in mothers' blood, precedes sPTB by weeks to months, and discriminates sPTB cases from full-term controls (AUROC: 0.7). Prominent immunoproteome features include heightened sensitivity to adrenergic signals within myeloid and T cell populations in early pregnancy, followed by increased production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the third trimester. Transcriptome analysis of single-cell CD4+ T cells shows a Th17-skewed, neuroactive-protein-responsive phenotype. Our study provides a multi-omics resource and a conceptual framework for early identification of individuals at increased risk for sPTB with broad translational implications for advancing targeted preventive measures.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.z8w9ghxst
Description of the data and file structure
This data set of immunome (mass cytometry/CyTOF) and proteome (aptamer-based platform/Somalogic) was generated from maternal blood samples collected from pregnant women (N=70), either experiencing a healthy term (N=46) or a spontaneous preterm birth (N=24).
Files and variables
File: PRINCE_Immunome_ICP.csv
Description: Intracellular Cytokine Production (ICP) CyTOF data. Please see material and methods in the associated manuscript for methods and readout description.
Variables (column names):
- population: immune cell subtype
- category: type of readout from the cytometry experiment (see specifics below)
- reagent: functional markers and cytokines measured in the study
- group: preterm (PT) vs. term (T)
- patientID: de-identified patient number
- stimulation: unstimulated (US) or treated with PMA/ionomycin (PI)
- timepoint: trimesters 1-3
- feature: frequency (see below)
- sampleID: combination of patientID and timepoint
Variable in column "category":
- freqcyto: Frequencies of cytokine-positive populations as a fraction of all mononuclear cells (exception: granulocytes calculated as fraction within living cells); Stimulation conditions: US, PI; Feature unit: percent
File: PRINCE_Immunome_Phosphos_FREQ.csv
Description: Frequencies of immune cell populations, CyTOF data. Please see material and methods in the associated manuscript for methods and readout description.
Variables (column names):
- population: immune cell subtype
- category: type of readout from the cytometry experiment (see below)
- reagent: type of readout from the cytometry experiment (see below)
- group: preterm (PT) vs. term (T)
- patientID: de-identified patient number
- stimulation: unstimulated (US)
- timepoint: trimesters 1-3
- feature: frequency (see below)
- sampleID: combination of patientID and timepoint
Variable in columns "category" and "reagent":
- freq: Frequencies of all innate and adaptive populations as a fraction of all mononuclear cells (exception: granulocytes calculated as fraction within living cells); Stimulation condition: US; Feature unit: percent
File: PRINCE_Immunome_Phosphos_MEDIAN.csv
Description: Median expression of proteins on immune cell populations, CyTOF data. Please see material and methods in the associated manuscript for methods and readout description.
Variables (column names):
- population: immune cell subtype
- category: type of readout from the cytometry experiment (see specifics below)
- reagent: functional markers measured in the study
- group: preterm (PT) vs. term (T)
- patientID: de-identified patient number
- stimulation: unstimulated (US), LPS+CL097 (LPS.CL097), isoproterenol (ISO), isoproterenol + LPS+CL097 (ISO.LPS.CL097), and PMA/ionomycin + IL-2/4/6 (PI.IL246) conditions
- timepoint: trimesters 1-3
- feature: ArcSinh-transformed median expression (see below)
- sampleID: combination of patientID and timepoint
Variable in column "category":
- median [marker]: Median expression of markers of activation, histone modification, and metabolic state; Stimulation conditions: US, PI.IL246, LPS.CL097, ISO, ISO.LPS.CL097; Feature unit: ArcSinh-transformed median
File: PRINCE_Proteome.csv
Description: Serum proteome of 1,500 proteins as measured by an aptamer-based platform. Please see material and methods in the associated manuscript for methods and readout description.
Variables
- sampleID: combination of patientID and timepoint (patientID.timepoint)
- Target: protein name abbreviation
- TargetFullName: protein name full name
- UniProt: protein UniProtID
- EntrezGeneID: protein EntrezGeneID
- Unit: Protein relative abundance is given as relative fluorescence units (RFUs).
Files: PRINCE_Immunome_ICP_Raw_fcs.zip and PRINCE_Immunome_Phospho_Raw_fcs.zip
Description: Raw .fcs files of both phosphorylation and ICP data acquired using mass cytometry. To open and analyze .fcs files, applicable software (e.g., FlowJo, CellEngine) is needed, which is widely available in immunological research facilities.
Code/software
The data are supplied in a tabular format, as .csv files.
Code and script for analysis of the data is deposited on Zenodo: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20337723.
Access information
The scRNAseq data of this study are publicly accessible at:
Data was derived from the following sources:
- N/A
Human subjects data
Human subjects data included in this dataset have been de-identified in accordance with applicable institutional, legal, and ethical guidelines, including approval by the relevant Institutional Review Board (IRB). All direct identifiers and information that could reasonably be used to identify individual participants have been removed prior to data deposition.
Participants provided informed consent for participation in the study and for the use and sharing of de-identified research data as permitted by the approved study protocol and consent process. The dataset contains no personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), or other direct identifiers. To further protect participant privacy, variables were reviewed and, where necessary, generalized, aggregated, or coded to minimize the risk of re-identification.
The authors confirm that the data have been prepared for public release in accordance with applicable ethical and legal requirements and that no information capable of directly identifying individual participants is included in this repository.