Urocortin in Second Trimester Amniotic Fluid: Its Role as Predictor of Preterm Labor
Backgound. The existence of a “placental clock” which determines the duration of gestation has been previously proposed. It is related to placental CRH secretion and is active from an early phase in human pregnancy. Urocortin is a specific ligand for the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2009-01-01
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| Series: | Mediators of Inflammation |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2009/947981 |
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| Summary: | Backgound. The existence of a “placental clock” which determines the duration of gestation has been previously proposed. It is related to placental CRH secretion and is
active from an early phase in human pregnancy. Urocortin is a specific ligand for the
corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptor expressed by human trophoblast and
fetal membranes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether urocortin
concentrations in the early second trimester amniotic fluid might serve to predict
preterm delivery. Method. The urocortin concentrations in early second trimester amniotic fluid were
measured in 41 pregnancies with term delivery and in 41 pregnancies with preterm
delivery by using an immunoradiometric assay. Conditional logistic regression
analysis was used for statistical analysis. Results. Mean amniotic fluid urocortin concentrations in women with preterm labor were 1.55±0.63 ng/mL while those in women with term labor were 1.6±0.49 ng/mL
(p: NS). No statistical significant results were found when comparing amniotic fluid
urocortin concentrations in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes
leading to preterm labor (𝑛=19) to women with term delivery without premature
rupture of membranes. Conclusion. These results suggest that urocortin concentrations in the amniotic fluid
of genetic amniocentesis are not predictive of preterm labor and birth. |
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| ISSN: | 0962-9351 1466-1861 |