Changes in Maternal Serum Transforming Growth Factor Beta-1 during Pregnancy: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Changes in circulating levels of maternal serum transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1), collected from 98 women (AGA) at different gestational ages (10–38 weeks) were measured and comparisons were made between levels in pregnant and nonpregnant controls and also between 10 women with small-for-gestational age (SGA) and 7 with appropriate-for-gestational age (AGA) fetuses. Maternal serum TGF-β1 levels at all stages of pregnancy were higher than those in normal healthy nonpregnant adults. The mean TGF-β1 levels in SGA pregnancies at 34-week gestation (32.5 + 3.2 ng/mL) were significantly less than those in AGA pregnancies (39.2 + 9.8 ng/mL) while at 38-week gestation, the levels were similar in the two groups (36.04 + 4.3 versus 36.7 + 7.0 ng/mL). This differential change in TGF-β1 levels is probably an important modulating factor in the aetiopathogenesis of abnormal intrauterine fetal growth.