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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Data Supplement All Versions of this Article: clinchem.2004.041228v1 51/1/224    most recent Submit an electronic Letter to the Editor about this paper Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (8) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Farina, A. Articles by Carinci, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Farina, A. Articles by Carinci, P. Related Collections Molecular Diagnostics and Genetics

Lower Maternal PLAC1 mRNA in Pregnancies Complicated with Vaginal Bleeding (Threatened Abortion <20 Weeks) and a Surviving Fetus

¹ Department of Histology, Embryology and Applied Biology and ² Division of Prenatal Medicine, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy ³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

^aaddress correspondence to this author at: Via Belmeloro 8, 40126 Bologna Italy; fax 39-51-2094110, e-mail antonio.farina@unibo.it

The first 300 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Trophoblastic cells of the placenta enter the maternal circulation and can be isolated there along with their specific mRNAs (1)(2). Increased concentrations of mRNA for corticotropin-releasing hormone, which is synthesized in the placenta, are seen in the blood of patients affected by preeclampsia (3), and panels of mRNAs(4) can be used to test for a disease of interest. The mRNA concentration in blood may vary with intracellular expression and with the number of trophoblastic cells expressing that specific mRNA per unit of blood. We hypothesize that pregnancies affected by a threatened abortion, but with a viable embryo, exhibit lower concentrations of mRNA for the placenta-expressed gene PLAC1 because of possible underlying delayed or abnormal placental growth at the time of maternal blood collection.

We studied 10 pregnant women admitted for a threatened abortion at <20 weeks of gestation (threatened abortion group). The study was approved by our local ethics committee, and all patients gave informed consent. All fetuses with abnormal karyotypes and pregnant women with preeclampsia, pre- or postterm delivery, uterine pathology such as myomas or malformations, placenta abruptio, loss to follow-up, and a vaginal or cervical lesion visualized on clinical examination that could explain the vaginal bleeding were excluded from the study. We also excluded those women who had vaginal bleeding and a subsequent miscarriage because villus destruction, apoptosis, and embryo death could increase the number of circulating placental cells and nucleic acids in the maternal blood, as could abnormal fetal karyotype, fetal malformation, and abnormal maternal immune response. Placental abruption observed later in the pregnancy was also excluded as a possible source of feto-maternal hemorrhage. During hospitalization, all women were maintained at complete bed rest, and routine ultrasound examinations and endocrine (ß-hCG) evaluation were carried out. We also studied 66 . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The following articles in journals at HighWire Press have cited this article:

				Y. Purwosunu, A. Sekizawa, K. Koide, A. Farina, N. Wibowo, G. H. Wiknjosastro, S. Okazaki, H. Chiba, and T. Okai Cell-Free mRNA Concentrations of Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 and Tissue-Type Plasminogen Activator Are Increased in the Plasma of Pregnant Women with Preeclampsia Clin. Chem., March 1, 2007; 53(3): 399 - 404. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S Okazaki, A Sekizawa, Y Purwosunu, M Iwasaki, A Farina, and T Okai Measurement of mRNA of trophoblast-specific genes in cellular and plasma components of maternal blood. J. Med. Genet., September 1, 2006; 43(9): e47 - e47. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]