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Lactoferrin as a sensitive blood marker of neutrophil activation in normal pregnancies
I Rebelo1, F Carvalho-Guerra, L Pereira-Leite
1Departamento de Bioquimica da Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto, Portugal.
Objective:
To test lactoferrin as a marker of neutrophil activation during pregnancy.
Design:
Cross-sectional study in normal pregnant (n = 100), nonpregnant (n = 11) and post partum women (n = 30).
Methods:
Serum or plasma measurements of neutrophils, lactoferrin, vitamin C, vitamin E, lipid peroxide, elastase, C-reactive protein gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, haptoglobin and osmotic fragility.
Results:
During normal pregnancy all markers of neutrophil-activation increase.
Conclusion:
Neutrophil-activation compromises the antioxidant defense mechanism during normal pregnancy.