title: Longitudinal analysis of maternal serum Follistatin concentration in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Follistatin (FST) is a regulator of the biological activity of activin A (Act A), binding and blocking it, which could contribute to the modulation of its pro-inflammatory activity during pregnancy. We sought to investigate, in this nested case-control study, FST serum levels during normal pregnancy and correlate it with the FST profile in preeclamptic pregnant women, normal pregnant women followed 3 months postpartum and eumenorrheic nonpregnant women throughout the menstrual cycle.
  
  
  METHODS
  Follistatin serum levels determined by ELISA, biochemical and anthropometric variables were measured in normal pregnant (n = 28) and preeclamptic (n = 20) women during three periods of gestation. In addition, FST serum levels were measured in a subset of normal pregnant women (n = 13) followed 3 months postpartum and in eumenorrheic nonpregnant women (n = 20) during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Follistatin serum levels in the eumenorrheic nonpregnant and postpartum group were significantly lower when compared to levels throughout gestation (P < 0·01). Serum FST levels increased in each period of pregnancy analysed, being significantly higher towards the end of gestation (P < 0·01). FST levels were lower in late pregnancy in preeclamptic women compared to normal pregnant women (P < 0·05). Finally, FST levels were higher in the luteal phase when compared with the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (P < 0·05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These analyses would permit the consideration that changes in FST levels during pregnancy contribute to the control of the Act A system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: María F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Garcés
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Sergio A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Vallejo
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Palomino-Palomino
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Luis G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ángel-Muller
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Luz A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Díaz-Cruz
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Ariel Iván
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Ruíz-Parra
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Angélica M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: González-Clavijo
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology, University of Córdoba, Reina Sofía University Hospital, Instituto Maimónides de Investigación Biomédica de Córdoba (IMIBIC), Córdoba, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Spain.
authors.forename: Justo P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Castaño
authors.affiliation: CINIBA, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abba
authors.affiliation: CINIBA, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina.
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lacunza
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology (CIMUS), School of Medicine-Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias (IDIS), University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Diéguez
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology (CIMUS), School of Medicine-Instituto de Investigaciones Sanitarias (IDIS), University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.|CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn), Spain.
authors.forename: Rubén
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nogueiras
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia.
authors.forename: Jorge E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Caminos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000886:Anthropometry; D001794:Blood Pressure; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005498:Follicular Phase / Q000097:blood; D038681:Follistatin / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008183:Luteal Phase / Q000097:blood; D049590:Postpartum Period; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D038681:Follistatin