Korean J Obstet Gynecol.  2011 Jun;54(6):286-293. 10.5468/KJOG.2011.54.6.286.

Association of angiogenin and interleukin-6 levels in cervical discharge during early pregnancy, together with its outcome

• Hyun MK
• Jung BK
• Shim JY
• Won HS
• Lee PR
• Kim A

• KMID: 2274036
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5468/KJOG.2011.54.6.286

Abstract

OBJECTIVE
To investigate the association between the cervical angiogenin and interleukin-6 levels and its outcome during early pregnancy.
METHODS
One hundred and seventy-five pregnant women were included consecutively at the time of their first prenatal visit after less than 10 weeks of gestation. The gestational age was calculated according to their menstrual history and/or ultrasonography. We measured the cervical angiogenin and interleukin-6 levels using ELISA kits. We also measured the maternal serum progesterone concentrations using radioimmunoassay. Spontaneous abortion was defined as when a pregnancy ended spontaneously within 20 weeks of gestation. If an index pregnancy lasted longer than 20 weeks of gestation, it was regarded as showing a normal pregnancy outcome.
RESULTS
Fifty-four pregnancies were excluded because of an incomplete study (n=36) or follow-up loss (n=18). Of the remaining 121 pregnancies, spontaneous abortion occurred in 10 pregnancies (8.3%) in which there were no significant gestational age-dependent changes in the maternal serum progesterone, cervical angiogenin, and interleukin-6 levels. The maternal serum progesterone, cervical angiogenin, and interleukin-6 levels were not significantly different between the spontaneous abortion group and the normal control group. However, the cervical angiogenin level was significantly decreased in the groups with discordant gestational age and spontaneous abortion compared to the group with concordant gestational age (median, 798.0 pg/mL vs. 723.4 pg/mL vs. 1039.8 pg/mL; inter-quartile range, 222.8-1054.7 pg/mL vs. 257.1-1213.3 pg/mL vs. 480.4-1534.4 pg/mL) (p<0.041).
CONCLUSION
First trimester cervical angiogenin measurement may be valuable for predicting the early pregnancy outcome.

Keyword

Angiogenesis; Interleukin-6; Cervical discharge; Early pregnancy; Pregnancy outcome

MeSH Terms

Abortion, Spontaneous
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Gestational Age
Humans
Interleukin-6
Pregnancy
Pregnancy Outcome
Pregnancy Trimester, First
Pregnant Women
Progesterone
Radioimmunoassay
Ribonuclease, Pancreatic
Interleukin-6
Progesterone
Ribonuclease, Pancreatic

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Scattergram of maternal serum progesterone levels in normal (♦; n=111) and spontaneous abortion group (▪; n=10). Note the values of spontaneous abortion group are scattered evenly up and below the gestational age-related trend line for the values of normal group.

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  Fig. 2 Scattergram of cervical angiogenin levels in normal (♦; n=111) and spontaneous abortion group (▪; n=10). Note the most values of spontaneous abortion group are scattered below the gestational age-related trend line for the values of normal group.

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  Fig. 3 Scattergram of cervical interleukin-6 levels in normal (♦; n=111) and spontaneous abortion group (▪; n=10). Note the most values of spontaneous abortion group are scattered below the gestational age-related trend line for the values of normal group.

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