OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in maternal serum levels of activin A and follistatin during pregnancy and labour. DESIGN: In three cross sectional and three longitudinal studies venous blood was collected from women during pregnancy, spontaneous labour, labour induction and prior to elective caesarean section for the measurement of activin A and follistatin. SETTING: Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. POPULATION: One hundred and twenty-three women participated in a cross sectional study in pregnancy, 18 women in two longitudinal pregnancy studies, 36 women in a cross sectional labour study, nine women in a longitudinal study of labour induction. Ten women undergoing elective caesarean section were also studied. METHODS: Activin A and follistatin were measured using two sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS: In the cross sectional study of pregnancy, mean (SEM) maternal serum activin A and follistatin levels increased towards term (2.4 ng/mL (0.3) and 1.8 ng/mL (0.3) in first trimester to 18.9 ng/mL (3.8) and 5.3 ng/mL (0.9) at term, respectively), but the longitudinal study revealed that levels plateau in the last three weeks of pregnancy (16.0 ng/mL (2.6) and 6.2 ng/mL (1.4) at 37 weeks and 16.6 ng/mL (3.5) and 6.2 ng/mL (0.5) before labour for activin A and follistatin, respectively). There was no difference in levels of activin A and follistatin between women delivered by caesarean section and labouring women at term (14.9 ng/mL (2.8) vs 11.0 ng/mL (0.93) and 5.95 ng/mL (0.67) vs 5.71 ng/mL (0.63), respectively) and levels of both proteins did not alter throughout spontaneous or induced labour. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that these data argue against activin A playing an acute role in the initiation or regulation of human parturition.
OBJECTIVE: To examine changes in maternal serum levels of activin A and follistatin during pregnancy and labour. DESIGN: In three cross sectional and three longitudinal studies venous blood was collected from women during pregnancy, spontaneous labour, labour induction and prior to elective caesarean section for the measurement of activin A and follistatin. SETTING: Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. POPULATION: One hundred and twenty-three women participated in a cross sectional study in pregnancy, 18 women in two longitudinal pregnancy studies, 36 women in a cross sectional labour study, nine women in a longitudinal study of labour induction. Ten women undergoing elective caesarean section were also studied. METHODS: Activin A and follistatin were measured using two sensitive and specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. RESULTS: In the cross sectional study of pregnancy, mean (SEM) maternal serum activin A and follistatin levels increased towards term (2.4 ng/mL (0.3) and 1.8 ng/mL (0.3) in first trimester to 18.9 ng/mL (3.8) and 5.3 ng/mL (0.9) at term, respectively), but the longitudinal study revealed that levels plateau in the last three weeks of pregnancy (16.0 ng/mL (2.6) and 6.2 ng/mL (1.4) at 37 weeks and 16.6 ng/mL (3.5) and 6.2 ng/mL (0.5) before labour for activin A and follistatin, respectively). There was no difference in levels of activin A and follistatin between women delivered by caesarean section and labouring women at term (14.9 ng/mL (2.8) vs 11.0 ng/mL (0.93) and 5.95 ng/mL (0.67) vs 5.71 ng/mL (0.63), respectively) and levels of both proteins did not alter throughout spontaneous or induced labour. CONCLUSIONS: We believe that these data argue against activin A playing an acute role in the initiation or regulation of human parturition.
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