Detection of neuroglobin in umbilical cord blood signals progress in perinatal medicine

To assess whether Neuroglobin could play a functional role during perinatal period and birth, it was analyzed in 83 umbilical cord blood samples where its concentration ranged between 1.65 and 45.18 ng/mL, mean 18.49 ng/mL. Although resembling concentrations previously detected in many pathologic conditions in adults, none of newborns displayed altered Apgar score and were regularly discharged in healthy status. Surprisingly, 83.13% of babies had NGB concentrations higher than the putative 8.4 ng/mL value, recently hypothesized as a prognostic cut-off between good and bad recovery from cerebral ischemia in adults. Significant Pearson correlations were observed between NGB and Hb (r = 0.368, p = 0.001), and Htc (r = 0.372, p = 0.001) confirming its physiological role in oxygen-regulated metabolic information within the child-mother dyad. Besides the direct action in regulating blood flow and gas exchange, the first NGB discovery in cord blood is discussed in relation to new perspectives in perinatal medicine.