Serum Hsp70 Antigen: Early Diagnosis Marker in Perinatal Asphyxia
Hassan Boskabadi1, Masoud Omidian1, Shima Tavallai2
1Department of Pediatrics, Neonatal Research Center, Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences (MUMS), Mashhad, IR Iran.
Insights
Serum Hsp70 levels are significantly higher in newborns with perinatal asphyxia. This finding suggests Hsp70 may serve as a valuable biomarker for early diagnosis of neonatal asphyxia.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Neonatal Medicine
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Perinatal asphyxia is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and long-term neurological deficits.
- Early and accurate diagnosis is crucial for prognosis and treatment of neonatal asphyxia.
- Heat Shock Protein 70 (Hsp70) shows potential as a marker for cellular stress in neonatal asphyxia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate and compare serum Hsp70 antigen levels in asphyxiated versus healthy neonates.
- To establish Hsp70 as a potential early diagnostic marker for neonatal asphyxia.
Main Methods:
- Observational study comparing serum Hsp70 concentrations in 50 asphyxiated and 51 healthy term neonates.
- Inclusion criteria focused on term neonates with clinical signs of asphyxia; exclusion criteria addressed prematurity, congenital abnormalities, and infections.
- Cord blood samples were analyzed for Hsp70 antigen levels using an in-house ELISA.
Main Results:
- Median serum anti-Hsp70 titers were significantly elevated in asphyxiated neonates (0.36 [0.04-1.14]) compared to controls (0.24 [0.01-0.63]).
- ROC curve analysis indicated a sensitivity of 58% and specificity of 76% at a cutoff of 0.3125 ng/mL for Hsp70.
Conclusions:
- A significant difference in serum Hsp70 concentrations was observed between asphyxiated and control neonates.
- Serum Hsp70 antigen may serve as a useful biomarker for the early diagnosis of prenatal hypoxia.
Background:
Perinatal asphyxia is an important cause of mortality and permanent neurological and developmental deficit. Early and accurate diagnosis would help to establish the likely prognosis and may also help in determining the most appropriate treatment. Studies in experimental animal models suggest that a protein called Hsp70 may be a good and potentially useful marker of cellular stress that may be clinically useful in determining the presence of neonatal asphyxia.
Objectives:
Regarding the importance of early and accurate diagnosis of asphyxia, we conducted this study, which is the first investigation of the comparison of the serum Hsp70 antigen level between asphyxiated and healthy infants.
Patients And Methods:
In this observational study, the serum concentrations of Hsp70 antigen were compared between neonates suffering from perinatal asphyxia (n = 50) and normal neonates (n = 51). The inclusion criteria for the cases were neonates who had reached term and had at least two clinical criteria of asphyxia. Exclusion criteria were babies with gestational age < 37 weeks, infants with congenital abnormalities or positive blood culture. Exclusion criteria in this group were the requirement to hospital stay during first week of the life or babies whose mothers had difficulties during pregnancy or delivery. Term neonates without major anomalies who had asphyxia during delivery were enrolled in the first six hours after delivery, and control group consisted of healthy term neonates without problems and normal delivery process in the first week of life. The cord blood was taken during labor to measure Hsp70 antigen level by using an in-house ELISA (The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay).
Results:
The median values of serum anti Hsp70 titers were significantly higher in asphyxiated neonates compared with non-asphyxiated neonates (0.36 [0.04 - 1.14] vs 0.24 [0.01 - 0.63]). At cutoff point = 0.3125 ng/mL, sensitivity was 58% and specificity 76% based on ROC curve.
Conclusions:
A significant difference between the serum concentrations of Hsp70 of the control and patient group was observed in this study. It is inferred serum concentrations of Hsp70 antigen may be a useful marker for the early diagnosis of that prenatal hypoxia.
