Amniotic Fluid and Maternal Serum Laeverin Levels and Their Correlations with Fetal Size and Placental Volume in Second Trimester of Pregnancy-A Prospective Cross-Sectional Study.

Background

Laeverin is an extravillous trophoblast marker playing a significant role in trophoblast migration. We endeavored to estimate the association between the amniotic and serum laeverin concentrations at 16-22 weeks of gestation and the fetal and placental ultrasound measurements in high-risk uncomplicated pregnancies.

Methods

A prospective cross-sectional study of consecutively recruited singleton pregnancies undergoing amniocentesis was performed. Fetal structural malformations and/or aneuploidy were the exclusion criteria. Fetal biometric parameters and placental growth/perfusion were assessed by ultrasound in 44 high-risk pregnancies who had no pregnancy complications and any other chronic disease. Maternal serum and amniotic laeverin levels were essayed with sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results

Serum laeverin levels are decreasing marginally with the maternal age in mid-gestation. Laeverin levels in the serum correlated minimally negatively with head size of the fetus (β = -0.38; p < 0.05; 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.03-0.01), whereas the amniotic level correlated strongly with the fetal abdominal circumference (β = -0.74; p < 0.05; 95% CI: -0.34--0.09). In addition, the amniotic laeverin level correlated moderately and positively with the placental volume (β = 0.46; p < 0.05; 95% CI: 0.01-0.08).

Conclusions

Laeverin levels detected in the serum and in the amniotic fluid denote the fetoplacental growth in uncomplicated high-risk pregnancies.