sCD40 ligand determined in maternal and umbilical cord blood in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia with and without intrauterine growth retardation.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was determination and comparative analysis of the maternal and umbilical cord sCD40L serum levels in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia with and without intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and in normotensive pregnancies.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

The study was carried out on 16 patients with singleton pregnancies complicated by severe pre-eclampsia with appropriate-for-gestational-age weight infants and 14 pregnant patients with severe pre-eclampsia complicated by IUGR. The control group consisted of 13 healthy normotensive delivering patients. Five milliliters of blood were taken by venipuncture from each pre-eclamptic patient and from each woman from the control group before active phase of labor and 5 ml of umbilical vein blood were taken immediately after delivery and collected in sterile tubes. Maternal and umbilical serum sCD40L concentrations were estimated using a sandwich ELISA assay.

RESULTS AND

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reveal the higher levels of maternal and umbilical sCD40L serum levels in pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia with and without IUGR. The mean maternal values were 4.022 +/- 2.399 ng/ml in group P, 3.914 +/- 2.824 ng/ml in group PI and 0.885 +/- 0.064 ng/ml in healthy controls. The mean umbilical values were 2.633 +/- 1.984 ng/ml in group P, 2.703 +/- 1.996 ng/ml in group PI and 1.112 +/- 0.436 ng/ml in the control group. It seems that these higher concentrations of sCD40L protect maternal immune cells bearing CD40 receptor from Fas-mediated apoptosis. Our findings may suggest also enhanced platelet activation in pre-eclamptic patients. It may be one of the factors responsible for the enhanced procoagulatory and proinflammatory properties, and increased cytokine production, and endothelial cell dysfunction in pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia.