title: Oxidant damage to DNA and pregnancy outcome.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  DNA is susceptible to oxidation and is constantly being damaged and repaired in living cells. The most abundant of the nucleoside oxidation products is 8-oxo-7,8 dihydro-2 deoxyguanosine (8 OH-dG). Our objective was to determine whether oxidative damage to DNA, as measured by 8 OH-dG, is increased with poor pregnancy outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  We utilized a case-control design to study oxidative damage to DNA during an ongoing prospective study. Cases (n = 18) included all women giving birth to a low-birth-weight (< 2500 g) or growth-restricted (< 10th centile) or preterm infant (< 37 completed weeks). Controls (n = 34) were selected at random from women with normal pregnancies. Urine samples were obtained early in the third trimester (28 +/- 2 weeks) and normalized to creatinine. Diet was assessed at three points during pregnancy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cases had significant (p < 0.05) increases in maternal urinary 8 OH-dG excretion at week 28, when all cases were considered and when cases were defined as those who delivered a low-birth-weight infant. 8OH-dG excretion, in turn, correlated positively with saturated fat in the maternal diet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that gravidas with poor pregnancy outcome have increased oxidative damage to their DNA early in the third trimester of pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford 08084, USA. scholl@umdnj.edu
authors.forename: T O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Scholl
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000502:physiology*; D003849:Deoxyguanosine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight / Q000502:physiology; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000502:physiology*; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014505:Urban Population
chemical_list: D000080242:8-Hydroxy-2'-Deoxyguanosine; D003849:Deoxyguanosine