First-Trimester Levels of Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein A2 (PAPP-A2) in the Maternal Circulation Are Elevated in Pregnancies That Subsequently Develop Preeclampsia. (June 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Crosley, Erin J.; Durland, Ursula; Seethram, Ken; MacRae, Scott; Gruslin, Andrée; Christians, Julian K.
• Is Part Of: Reproductive sciences. Volume 21:Number 6(2014:Jun.)
• Page Start: 754
• Page End: 760
• Publication Date: 2014-06
• Subjects: PAPP-A2 -- preeclampsia -- small-for-gestational-age; Reproductive health -- Periodicals; Reproduction -- Periodicals; 612.6
• DOI: 10.1177/1933719113512532
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1933-7191

Abstract

Recent studies have consistently found pregnancy-associated plasma protein A2 (PAPP-A2) to be upregulated in preeclamptic placentae at term. We tested whether first-trimester circulating PAPP-A2 levels differed between complicated and uncomplicated pregnancies. We measured maternal PAPP-A2 levels at 10 to 14 weeks of gestational age in 17 pregnancies resulting in small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants, 6 which developed preeclampsia (PE), 1 which developed PE and resulted in an SGA infant, and 37 gestational age-matched controls. The concentration of the PAPP-A2 isoform corresponding to the full-length protein was significantly higher in pregnancies that developed PE (35 ng/mL) compared with those that did not (23 ng/mL; P < .044). In contrast, we found no difference in PAPP-A2 levels between pregnancies that did or did not result in an SGA infant. The upregulation of PAPP-A2 that has previously been observed in PE at term appears to begin early in pregnancy, well before the symptoms develop.