QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tisi, D. K. Articles by Koski, K. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tisi, D. K. Articles by Koski, K. G.

---

Human Nutrition and Metabolism

Total Protein Concentration in Human Amniotic Fluid Is Negatively Associated with Infant Birth Weight¹

School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University (Macdonald Campus), Montréal, Canada H9X-3V9

²To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: kristine.koski{at}mcgill.ca.

Our objectives were 2-fold: 1) to assess the concentration and distribution of total protein in human amniotic fluid (AF) using 3 standard assays [Bradford, bicinchoninic acid solution (BCA), and Lowry] and 2) to establish whether these total protein concentrations were associated with and predictive of infant birth weight. Birth outcomes were determined using recently developed birth-weight-for-gestational-age categories (percentiles) for fetal growth where infants < 10% were classified as SGA (small-for-gestational-age), those between 10 and 90% as appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) and those infants 90% as large-for-gestational-age (LGA). AF samples were collected from women undergoing routine amniocentesis for genetic testing (mean = 15 ± 0.04 wk, range 12–20 wk), frozen, and later analyzed for total protein in 617 singleton-expectant mothers in Montréal, QC, Canada. Maternal and fetal characteristics were obtained from questionnaires and medical chart review. Mothers giving birth to LGA infants had uniformly lower AF protein concentrations at 12–20 wk gestation compared with AF protein concentrations for mothers of AGA infants. Multiple regression analyses demonstrated that total AF protein, collected during routine amniocentesis and later analyzed by the Lowry method, was negatively associated with birth weight at term in our population. These data suggest that one or more AF proteins might emerge as biomarkers of fetal growth.

KEY WORDS: • amniotic fluid • total protein • fetal growth • birth weight • Lowry assay

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. K. Tisi, X.-J. Liu, L. J. Wykes, C. D. Skinner, and K. G. Koski Insulin-Like Growth Factor II and Binding Proteins 1 and 3 from Second Trimester Human Amniotic Fluid Are Associated with Infant Birth Weight J. Nutr., July 1, 2005; 135(7): 1667 - 1672. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]