Association of folic acid receptor α in maternal serum with neural tube defects.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate whether serum folic receptor α levels are changed in women whose previous pregnancies were complicated with neural tube defects (NTDs).

METHODS

This was a case-control study that included 41 women as the control group who had previously had at least one healthy pregnancy and 37 women as the study group who had a previous pregnancy complicated with NTDs. Blood samples were obtained from all of the participants six weeks after the termination of pregnancy or delivery of a baby. Serum folate receptor α concentrations were analyzed using a commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit.

RESULTS

The mean concentrations of serum folate receptor α were significantly lower in the NTD cases compared to those in the control group (p = 0.02). There was no significant difference in mean serum folate titers between the NTD cases and the control group (p = 0.07).

CONCLUSION

Low serum folic acid receptor α levels in the current study did not appear to be a regulatory marker of maternal folate homeostasis per se but rather a factor that contributed to the development of NTDs.