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Tissue concentrations of endothelial cell adhesion molecules in the lower uterine segment during term parturition
M Winkler1, B Kemp, D C Fischer
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital, Technical University, Aachen, Germany. mwinkler@post.klinikum.rwth-aachen.de
Objective:
To determine the concentration of endothelial cell adhesion molecules in the lower uterine segment during parturition at term.
Methods:
We analyzed protein extracts from the lower uterine segments of 38 women who had nonelective cesareans at term. We measured concentrations of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Subjects were grouped according to cervical dilatation (less than 2 cm, n = 10; 2 to less than 4 cm, n = 9; 4-6 cm, n = 9; more than 6 cm, n = 10) and duration of labor (up to 6 hours, n = 14; 6-12 hours, n = 10; 12-24 hours, n = 9; longer than 24 hours, n = 5) at the time of cesarean.
Results:
The median concentration of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 increased significantly with increasing dilatation (from 2.24 ng/mg total protein at less than 2 cm to 6.73 ng/mg at 4-6 cm) and increasing duration of labor (from 2.53 ng/mg up to 6 hours to 5.90 ng/mg at 12-24 hours). However, this study did not have adequate statistical power to identify differences in concentrations of the other endothelial adhesion molecules.
Conclusion:
The results indicate that parturition at term is associated with expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1.