title: Serum autotaxin measurements in pregnant women: application for the differentiation of normal pregnancy and pregnancy-induced hypertension.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The bioactive lipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) exerts multiple effects in the female reproductive system. Serum/plasma LPA is mainly produced by the lysophospholipase D activity of autotaxin (ATX). Previous studies have suggested that ATX has critical roles in cancer, reproduction, and vascular development. In the present study, we evaluated the usefulness of serum ATX measurements in pregnant women.
  
  
  METHODS
  We measured the serum ATX antigen levels in 32 normal pregnant women, 15 patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), and 7 patients with preterm delivery using a recently developed automated enzyme immunoassay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The serum ATX antigen levels in normal pregnant women were significantly higher than those in non-pregnant women (P<0.001). The serum ATX antigen levels in normal pregnant women were significantly and positively correlated with the gestational week (r=0.809, P<0.001). During the third trimester, the serum ATX antigen levels of the patients with PIH (3.299 ± 1.720 mg/l) were significantly lower than those of the normal pregnant women (4.915 ± 2.323 mg/l) (P=0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The serum ATX antigen level increases with the progression of pregnancy. The serum ATX level may be a serological marker for the prediction of PIH.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Laboratory, The University of Tokyo Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: Akiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Iwasawa
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Ryunosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ohkawa
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Igarashi
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okudaira
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kozuma
authors.forename: Junken
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aoki
authors.forename: Yutaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yatomi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001331:Automation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D046110:Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced / Q000097:blood* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000378:metabolism; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D000099189:Lysophospholipase D
chemical_list: D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; D000099189:Lysophospholipase D