Journal
JOURNAL OF MATERNAL-FETAL & NEONATAL MEDICINE
Volume 24, Issue 8, Pages 1033-1038Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.3109/14767058.2010.545909
Keywords
Pregnancy; amniotic fluid; amino acids; gestational age; fetal weight; smoking in pregnancy; body mass index in pregnancy
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Objectives. Our aim was to identify and quantitate free amino acids in human amniotic fluid (AF) specimens collected during 2nd trimester amniocentesis and determine the correlation between amino acid concentrations, gestational age, and estimated fetal weight. Methods. Seventy-eight AF samples were retrieved between 18 and 22 weeks of gestation. Fetal weight estimation was based on fetal biometric measurements. Results. Twenty-one amino acids were quantified. The concentration of glutamine exhibited the greatest correlation with gestational age (r = 0.477, p < 0.01). Additionally, significant negative correlations were recorded between gestational age and levels of alanine, proline, lysine, valine, taurine, leucine, glutamic acid, tyrosine, phenylalanine, isoleucine, ornithine, methionine, and tryptophane (p < 0.05). After adjusting for maternal age, fetal gender, intervals between consecutive pregnancies, pre-pregnancy body mass index, and smoking during pregnancy the strength of the correlation for proline and lysine decreased. A stepwise multiple linear regression model including gestational age as a first level predictor of fetal weight indicated that lysine and cysteine concentrations were additional predictors. Conclusions. Our results suggest that AF amino acids are crucial for fetal growth. Our purpose was not to establish an immediate diagnostic application. However, further exploration is likely to be fruitful, especially in high-risk pregnancies.
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