Pentraxin 3 in neonates with and without diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension

Pentraxin 3 is a novel biomarker produced by vascular endothelial cells and macrophages. In recent studies involving adults, pentraxin 3 has been introduced as a reliable biomarker in the evaluation of cardiovascular disease and pulmonary hypertension. This study was conducted with an aim to measure the level of pentraxin 3 in neonates with pulmonary hypertension and comparing with normal healthy controls.

In a case-control study, plasma pentraxin 3 levels were evaluated in 3 groups of neonates including neonates with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), neonates with congenital heart disease without pulmonary arterial hypertension (CHD-PAH) and normal healthy neonates.

Plasma pentraxin 3 levels in 72 neonates (21 in PAH, 19 in CHD-PAH, and 32 in control group) were measured. Demographic characteristics had no significant statistical difference among the 3 groups. Pentraxin 3 levels in PAH group was significantly higher than CHD-PAH and control groups (2.12±2.32 vs. 0.58±0.57 and 1.03±1.38ng/mL, P=0.008, respectively). No significant correlation was found between concentrations of pentraxin 3 and cardiac ejection fractions between PAH and CHD-PAH (r=0.009, P=0.97). However, significant positive correlation was detected between PTX3 concentrations and pulmonary pressures between these two groups (r=0.499, P=0.001).

Results from our study showed that pentraxin 3 levels were increased in newborn infants with pulmonary hypertension. Plasma pentraxin 3 could be considered as a novel adjunct diagnostic tool in the evaluation of pulmonary hypertension in combination with echocardiography or as a diagnostic tool when echocardiography is not readily available for confirmation of increased pulmonary pressure.