P100IUGR fetuses with abnormal umbilical artery Doppler and elevated S100B protein levels

Abstract

Maternal and umbilical blood samples were collected in IUGR pregnancies with abnormal umbilical artery Doppler findings and in controls. S100B protein levels were measured by means of a specific radioimmunoassay and flow velocimetry waveforms were recorded from uterine, umbilical and fetal middle cerebral arteries. We studied the correlation between S100B protein, an acidic calcium binding protein previously demonstrated as a reliable indicator of brain lesion, and the degree of fetoplacental blood flow impairment to examine whether S100B could be helpful in the detection of brain sufference in intrauterine growth retarded (IUGR) fetuses. Mean S100B protein in umbilical plasma were higher (P < 0.05) in IUGR patients (113.5 ± 65.9 fmol/mL) than in controls (52.7 ± 34.8 fmol/mL), and particularly in those cases in which brain sparing was present (169.6 ± 67.8 fmol/mL). Fetal S100B concentrations were correlated with middle cerebral artery PI (r = −0.50, P < 0.05) and with umbilical artery PI/middle cerebral artery PI ratio (r = 0.51, P < 0.05). This study provides evidence that fetal S100B protein is increased in IUGR and suggests that it may play.