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Fibronectin levels in Indian neonates in health & disease
Insights
Serum fibronectin (Fn) levels were significantly lower in newborns with septicemia. Term infants showed lower Fn levels than Western reports, possibly due to maternal health conditions.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal Medicine
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Fibronectin (Fn) is a crucial protein in neonatal health.
- Understanding Fn levels in cord blood aids in assessing infant well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To measure and compare serum fibronectin levels in various newborn infant groups.
- To investigate potential correlations between fibronectin levels and neonatal conditions.
Main Methods:
- Cord blood samples from 250 newborns were analyzed for fibronectin using immunoelectrophoresis (IE) and ELISA.
- Infants were categorized into term appropriate for date (TAFD), preterm appropriate for date (PTAFD), term small for date (TSFD), preterm small for date (PTSFD), birth asphyxia (BA), and septicemia (SEP) groups.
- Plasma Fn was also measured in TAFD infants.
Main Results:
- Septicemia (SEP) group showed significantly lower serum fibronectin levels (P < 0.01) compared to non-septicemic infants.
- No significant differences in Fn levels were found between term and preterm, or appropriate vs. small for date infants.
- TAFD infants exhibited lower serum and plasma Fn levels than previously reported in Western literature, with maternal health issues cited as a potential cause.
Conclusions:
- Septicemia is associated with significantly reduced cord blood fibronectin levels in newborns.
- Lower fibronectin levels in term infants may be linked to maternal medical conditions during pregnancy.
- Further research is needed to explore the implications of these findings for neonatal care.
Abstract:
Cord blood samples were estimated for serum fibronectin (Fn) by immunoelectrophoresis (IE) and enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) in 250 newborn healthy and sick infants classified into 6 categories: i.e., term appropriate for date (TAFD), preterm appropriate for date (PTAFD), term small for date (TSFD), preterm small for date (PTSFD), birth asphyxia (BA) and septicemia (SEP). TAFD infants were assayed for plasma Fn in addition. Comparison of Fn levels in the different groups by the Wilcoxan rank sum test indicated no significant difference between term and preterm infants, between PTAFD and PTSFD, TAFD and TSFD and in infants with and without birth asphyxia. Babies with septicemia had a significantly (P < 0.01) lower Fn level (29.97 +/- 29.03 mg/l) than those with no septicemia (42.77 +/- 30.20 mg/l). TAFD infants had Fn levels (serum 41.44 +/- 31.08 mg/l, plasma 85.20 +/- 33.38 mg/l) that are less than half the levels reported in the Western literature for newborn term infants. A possible cause could be the associated medical problems in mothers as 41 per cent of mothers of TAFD infants had conditions such as pregnancy induced hypertension, gestational diabetes, rheumatic heart disease, infection etc.