Raised maternal serum placenta growth factor concentration during the second trimester is associated with Down syndrome

Objectives: To compare early second-trimester maternal serum placenta growth factor concentrations in Down syndrome pregnancies and those in normal pregnancies.

Methods: A case-control study was performed to evaluate the maternal serum placenta growth factor concentrations in 36 Down syndrome and 320 normal pregnancies with matched gestational age during the second trimester. For the detection of serum concentrations of placenta growth factor, a quantitative sandwich enzyme immunoassay technique (R & D Systems Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA) was performed.

Results: Using a multiple linear regression model, maternal serum placenta growth factor level was associated with gestational age (p<0.001) and the existence of Down syndrome pregnancy (p<0.001). After converting maternal serum placenta growth factor concentrations of each analyte to multiples of the appropriate gestational median (MoM), placenta growth factor MoM (p<0.001) was revealed to be an independent variable for Down syndrome pregnancies after adjusting for the effects of maternal age (p<0.001), free beta-hCG (p<0.001) and AFP (p=0.014) by multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Conclusions: Maternal serum placenta growth factor concentration was elevated in Down syndrome pregnancies during the early second trimester. Placenta growth factor might be a novel marker for maternal serum Down syndrome screening.