Sex-determining region Y levels in maternal plasma: Evaluation in abnormal pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
A number of studies for the measurement of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal blood have been reported; however, their clinical significance has remained unclear. We proposed to clarify the relationship between fetal DNA levels and obstetrical disorders.


METHODS
One hundred and eighty-five cases of normal pregnancy, ranging from 8 to 40 weeks' gestation, and 70 cases of abnormal pregnancy were included. SRY levels in maternal plasma were quantified with a real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction.


RESULTS
Sex-determining region Y (SRY) levels and the number of patients with positive levels peaked at 33-36 weeks in normal pregnancy. The SRY levels in threatened abortion (11.6 +/- 4.8 copies/mL to 0 +/- 0, P < 0.05) and threatened preterm labor (44.6 +/- 16.1 copies/mL to 15.9 +/- 6.2, P < 0.01) were significantly higher than those of the normal group. In pre-eclamptic patients, SRY levels were markedly higher than those of the normal group (173.2 +/- 94.8 copies/mL to 22.4 +/- 8.9, P < 0.05). Patients with premature separation of the placenta (266.8 +/- 137.1 copies/mL to 4.9 +/- 3.7, P < 0.05) and placenta previa (167.7 +/- 32.4 copies/mL to 37.0 +/- 17.3, p <0.01) also showed elevated SRY levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Sex-determining region Y levels in maternal plasma were elevated in patients with an abnormal pregnancy, particularly those with placental injury of damage. These results suggested that increased SRY levels are consistently caused by the leak of fetal components, and thus the measurement of SRY levels in maternal plasma is useful for the evaluation of placental injuries.
Shimada
Keiko
K
Department of Maternal Nursing & Midwifery, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan. shimada@kenroku.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
Murakami
Kouichi
K
Shozu
Makio
M
Segawa
Tomoya
T
Sumitani
Hiroshi
H
Inoue
Masaki
M
D000033:Abortion, Threatened / Q000097:blood; D000328:Adult; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000097:blood; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood*; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; C497745:SRY protein, human; D051876:Sex-Determining Region Y Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors; D004247:DNA