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ADAM12‐s in coelomic fluid and maternal serum in early pregnancy
Author(s) -
Makrydimas George,
Sotiriadis Alexandros,
Spencer Kevin,
Cowans Nicholas J.,
Nicolaides Kypros H.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
prenatal diagnosis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.956
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1097-0223
pISSN - 0197-3851
DOI - 10.1002/pd.1581
Subject(s) - amniotic fluid , gestation , medicine , pregnancy , andrology , fetus , obstetrics , biology , genetics
Objectives ADAM12‐s is a placental protein. In early pregnancy, reduced maternal levels of ADAM12‐s have been reported in association with foetal trisomy 21 or 18 and in cases that subsequently develop pre‐eclampsia and foetal growth restriction. The aim of this study is to investigate the distribution of ADAM12‐s in early pregnancy by comparing its concentration in maternal serum, amniotic fluid and coelomic fluid. Methods Coelomic fluid was obtained by coelocentesis from 13 singleton pregnancies with live foetuses at 6.9–9.3 weeks of gestation. Maternal serum was also obtained in all cases and in six cases amniotic fluid was also obtained. The concentration of ADAM12‐s was measured by dissociation enhanced lanthanide fluoro‐immunoassay. Results The median concentration of ADAM12‐s in maternal serum was 132.7 (range 33.8–254.5) ng/mL and in coelomic fluid it was 10.5 (range 1.3–15.8) ng/mL; there were no detectable levels in five of the six amniotic fluid samples. The concentration of maternal serum ADAM12‐s increased significantly with gestation ( r = 0.862, p < 0.0001). There was no significant association between coelomic fluid ADAM12‐s and either gestation ( r = 0.255, p = 0.401) or maternal serum ADAM12‐s ( r = 0.302, p = 0.316). Conclusion The distribution of ADAM12‐s in maternal serum and the early embryonic fluid compartments is consistent with its syncytiotrophoblastic origin. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.