title: Low levels of protein Z are associated with HELLP syndrome and its severity.
abstract: Protein Z (PZ) was found to be associated with pregnancy complications. There are no data implying an association between hemolysis (H), elevated liver enzymes (EL), and low platelet counts (LP) (HELLP) syndrome and changes in plasma levels of PZ. The aim of this study is to investigate whether HELLP syndrome is associated with plasma concentrations of PZ. Protein Z levels in 29 women with HELLP syndrome were compared with 29 healthy, nulliparous and 25 normal pregnant women. The median PZ levels in patients with HELLP syndrome were found to be significantly lower than those of pregnant women. No significant difference was found between HELLP and healthy groups. Protein Z levels correlated with platelet counts, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels in patients with HELLP syndrome. Median PZ level was higher in partial HELLP than in complete HELLP. We calculated 1330 ng/mL as a cutoff value for PZ level to discriminate HELLP syndrome from normal pregnancy. Low PZ levels are associated with the pathobiology of HELLP syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Marmara University Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey. isikkaygusuz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Isik
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kaygusuz
authors.forename: Tulin
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Firatli-Tuglular
authors.forename: Tayfur
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toptas
authors.forename: Vedat
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ugurel
authors.forename: Muzaffer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demir
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases / Q000097:blood; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D017359:HELLP Syndrome / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase / Q000097:blood; D010976:Platelet Count; D011247:Pregnancy; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; C026080:plasma protein Z; D007770:L-Lactate Dehydrogenase; D001219:Aspartate Aminotransferases