Serum autotaxin measurements in pregnant women: application for the differentiation of normal pregnancy and pregnancy-induced hypertension

Background: The bioactive lipid lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) exerts multiple effects in the female reproductive system. Serum/plasma LPA is mainly produced by the lysophospholipase D activity of autotaxin (ATX). Previous studies have suggested that ATX has critical roles in cancer, reproduction, and vascular development. In the present study, we evaluated the usefulness of serum ATX measurements in pregnant women.

Methods: We measured the serum ATX antigen levels in 32 normal pregnant women, 15 patients with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), and 7 patients with preterm delivery using a recently developed automated enzyme immunoassay.

Results: The serum ATX antigen levels in normal pregnant women were significantly higher than those in non-pregnant women (P<0.001). The serum ATX antigen levels in normal pregnant women were significantly and positively correlated with the gestational week (r=0.809, P<0.001). During the third trimester, the serum ATX antigen levels of the patients with PIH (3.299 ± 1.720 mg/l) were significantly lower than those of the normal pregnant women (4.915 ± 2.323 mg/l) (P=0.04).

Conclusions: The serum ATX antigen level increases with the progression of pregnancy. The serum ATX level may be a serological marker for the prediction of PIH.