Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2007 Sep;20(9):661-7.
doi: 10.1080/14767050701495011.

Preeclampsia is associated with low concentrations of protein Z

Offer Erez  1 , Debra Hoppensteadt, Roberto Romero, Jimmy Espinoza, Luis Goncalves, Jyh Kae Nien, Juan Pedro Kusanovic, Jawed Fareed, Francesca Gotsch, Beth Pineles, Tinnakorn Chaiworapongsa
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Preeclampsia is associated with low concentrations of protein Z

Offer Erez et al. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2007 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: Protein Z, a vitamin K-dependent plasma protein, has an important role in the regulation of the coagulation cascade. Protein Z deficiency has been associated with unexplained pregnancy loss and adverse pregnancy outcome in patients with thrombophilia. This study was conducted to determine if preeclampsia (PE), small for gestational age (SGA), and fetal demise are associated with changes in maternal plasma concentrations of protein Z.

Study design: This cross-sectional study included normal pregnant women (N = 71), patients with PE (N = 130), patients who delivered an SGA neonate (N = 58), and patients with fetal demise (N = 58). Maternal plasma protein Z concentrations were measured by a sensitive and specific immunoassay. Protein Z deficiency was defined as maternal plasma concentrations <or=5th percentile of the normal pregnancy group (<or=1.59 microg/mL). Non-parametric statistics were used for analysis.

Results: (1) Patients with PE had a lower median plasma concentration of protein Z than normal pregnant women (PE: median 1.6 microg/mL, range 0.2-3.3 microg/mL vs. normal pregnancy: median 2.4 microg/mL, range 1.1-3.4 microg/mL; p < 0.0001); (2) patients with an SGA neonate (median 2.3 microg/mL, range 0.2-3.8 microg/mL) and fetal demise (median 2.6 microg/mL, range 0.2-4.3 g/mL) did not have significantly different median protein Z concentrations from normal pregnant women (p > 0.05); and (3) women in the PE and fetal demise groups had significantly higher rates of protein Z deficiency than those with normal pregnancy outcome.

Conclusions: (1) PE, but not SGA or fetal demise, is associated with a significantly lower maternal median plasma concentration of protein Z than normal pregnancy, and (2) a high rate of protein Z deficiency is observed in patients with PE and fetal demise.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of the median maternal plasma protein Z concentrations between women with normal pregnancy and those with pregnancy complications.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the median maternal plasma protein Z concentrations between women with pregnancy complications.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. de B K, ten Cate JW, Sturk A, Borm JJ, Treffers PE. Enhanced thrombin generation in normal and hypertensive pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1989:95–100. - PubMed
    1. Yuen PM, Yin JA, Lao TT. Fibrinopeptide A levels in maternal and newborn plasma. Eur J Obstet Gynecol Reprod Biol. 1989:239–44. - PubMed
    1. Sorensen JD, Secher NJ, Jespersen J. Perturbed (procoagulant) endothelium and deviations within the fibrinolytic system during the third trimester of normal pregnancy. A possible link to placental function. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 1995:257–61. - PubMed
    1. Walker MC, Garner PR, Keely EJ, Rock GA, Reis MD. Changes in activated protein C resistance during normal pregnancy. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1997:162–9. - PubMed
    1. Bellart J, Gilabert R, Miralles RM, Monasterio J, Cabero L. Endothelial cell markers and fibrinopeptide A to D-dimer ratio as a measure of coagulation and fibrinolysis balance in normal pregnancy. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 1998:17–21. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources