Serum laminin in pregnancy-induced hypertension--a marker for renal involvement?
Laminin, a noncollagenous glycoprotein, has been identified as a component of basement membranes. It serves as a multifunctional adhesion protein. Immunoreactive laminin levels determined by a radioimmunoassay were found to increase throughout gestation, obviously due to growth of the placenta, an organ rich in basement membranes. In this study of 92 pregnant women in the third trimester we compared the serum laminin levels of 69 women with an uneventful course of pregnancy to the levels of 23 women with symptoms of pregnancy-induced hypertension. Laminin concentrations were 2.6 U/ml in pregnant women with hypertension and proteinuria, which was significantly higher than in healthy pregnant women (2.0 U/ml). We supposed that immunologic reactions that damage the kidney account for an increase of laminin concentrations in these women. Therefore we suggest that measurements of serum laminin concentrations may serve as a potential marker of renal damage.
Rudelstorfer
R
R
2nd Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Vienna, Austria.
Bieglmayer
C
C
Nanz
S
S
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006977:Hypertension, Renal / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology; D007797:Laminin / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011249:Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular / Q000097:blood*; D011263:Pregnancy Trimester, Third / Q000097:blood; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000150:complications; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D012044:Regression Analysis
D007797:Laminin