Diagnosis and monitoring of pregnancy in mice: correlations between maternal weight, fetal and placental mass and the maternal serum levels of progesterone, pregnancy-associated murine protein-2 and alpha-fetoprotein.
Outbred Bom:NMRI mice were weighed daily for 18 days from observation of a vaginal plug. In a separate experiment, fetuses and placentae were weighed on each day of pregnancy. Pregnancy can be determined with 99% certainty on day 12 of gestation by the maternal body weight increase from day 1. The pregnancy-specific proteins alpha-fetoprotein (m-AFP) and pregnancy-associated murine protein-2 (PAMP-2), of fetal and placental origin respectively, were detectable on days 8 and 10 in the maternal circulation. Significant correlations were observed between m-AFP and fetal weight and PAMP-2 and placental weight. These markers may therefore be useful in the monitoring of fetal growth and placental growth respectively.
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D051379:Mice / Q000502:physiology*; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000662:veterinary; D009929:Organ Size; D010920:Placenta / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D011258:Pregnancy Tests / Q000662:veterinary*; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins; C048775:pregnancy-associated murine protein 2; D011374:Progesterone