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Midkine and Pleiotrophin Concentrations in Amniotic Fluid in Healthy and Complicated Pregnancies
Youn Hee Jee1, Yael Lebenthal1,2, Piya Chaemsaithong3
1Section on Growth and Development, Program on Developmental Endocrinology and Genetics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
Background:
Midkine (MDK) and pleiotrophin (PTN) are heparin-binding growth factors that, in rodents, are highly expressed in early life and decrease to undetectable levels by adulthood. The potential roles of MDK and PTN in human growth and development are not completely elucidated.
Method And Findings:
To delineate the role of MDK and PTN in human development, we developed high sensitivity assays to measure their concentrations in amniotic fluid (AF) at various gestational ages in both healthy and complicated pregnancies. We found that both of these growth factors could be readily measured in AF and that the concentrations were higher than most cytokines previously reported in AF.
Conclusion:
The concentration of MDK but not that of PTN declined with gestational age. Both MDK and PTN concentrations were found to be lower in pregnancies that were complicated by chorioamnionitis at term, raising the possibility that these growth factors might be useful as markers for infection.
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