ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Hyperresistinemia – a Novel Feature in Systemic Infection During Human Pregnancy

Abstract

Citation Mazaki‐Tovi S, Vaisbuch E, Romero R, Kusanovic JP, Chaiworapongsa T, Kim SK, Ogge G, Yoon BH, Dong Z, Gonzalez JM, Gervasi MT, Hassan SS. Hyperresistinemia – a novel feature in systemic infection during human pregnancy. Am J Reprod Immunol 2010Problem Resistin, originally described as an adipokine, has emerged as a potent pro‐inflammatory protein associated with both acute and chronic inflammation. Moreover, resistin has been proposed as a powerful marker of sepsis severity, as well as a predictor of survival of critically ill non‐pregnant patients. The aim of this study was to determine whether pyelonephritis during pregnancy is associated with changes in maternal plasma resistin concentrations.Methods of study This cross‐sectional study included the following groups: (i) normal pregnant women (n = 85) and (ii) pregnant women with pyelonephritis (n = 40). Maternal plasma resistin concentrations were determined by ELISA. Non‐parametric statistics was used for analyses.Results (i) The median maternal plasma resistin concentration was higher in patients with pyelonephritis than in those with a normal pregnancy (P < 0.001); (ii) among patients with pyelonephritis, the median maternal resistin concentration did not differ significantly between those with and without a positive blood culture (P = 0.3); (iii) among patients with pyelonephritis who were diagnosed with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), those who fulfilled ≥3 criteria for SIRS had a significantly higher median maternal plasma resistin concentration than those who met only two criteria; and (iv) maternal WBC count positively correlated with circulating resistin concentration (r = 0.47, P = 0.02).Conclusion Hyperresistinemia is a feature of acute pyelonephritis during pregnancy. The results of this study support the role of resistin as an acute‐phase protein in the presence of bacterial infection during pregnancy.