| Summary: | 碩士 === 中山醫學大學 === 生化暨生物科技研究所 === 100 === Preeclampsia causes one-fourth of pregnant-related mortality that is directly or indirectly resulted from its complications.Globally,preeclampsia represents the second leading cause of death related to pregnancy.Therefore, development of early diagnosis and therapy strategy has always been an important subject of obstetrical research. The etiology of preeclampsia has not been known, but it is generally regarded as related to placental malfunction. Hedgehog protein plays pivotal roles during body and organ development, both in invertebrates and vertebrates. It is also known to regulate vasculogenesis and angiogenesis as well as early placenta formation. Previous studies also showed Hedgehog involvement in, hematopoetic differentiation. Therefore, it is well-justified to study the correlation between serum Hedgehog protein contents in different cycle and preeclampsia factors, in order to assess whether Hedgehog may be used as an early serum diagnostic marker. A total of 60 pregnant women were recruited as volunteers for this study. Maternal serum Hedgehog concentrations were measured by ELISA assay and correlated with factors including maternal age, order of pregnancy, previous abortion, stages of pregnancy (early and 3 trimesters), blood pressure, hemoglobin and red blood cell contents, placental weight, and fetal birth weight. The results showed that serum Hedgehog protein contents at different pregnancy stages appeared to correlate with the order of pregnancy, maternal age, previous abortion experience, maternal blood pressure, red blood cell counts, and hemoglobin, with Hedgehog contents significantly dropped down during the second trimester. Previous abortion experience is related to the stability of endometrium, while anemia is related to the ability of erythropoiesis, and so is placental weight related to angiogenesis. All of the elements of this scenario are pivotal to placental functions and are implicated with hedgehog involvement. Threfore, results of the present study support Hedgehog protein as a highly potential marker for early diagnosis for preeclampsia.
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