Longitudinal profile of sHLA-G during pregnancy and its association with
small for gestational age births in North Indian pregnant females: A
nested case-control study
Abstract
Abstract Objective: To assess the difference in the trajectories of
soluble HLA-G in maternal sera during pregnancy between women delivering
small for gestational age (SGA) and appropriate for gestational age
(AGA) neonates. Design and Settings: Pilot case-control study nested
within a cohort study - Garbh-Ini. Population: North-Indian pregnant
females delivering SGA (N=23) or AGA (N=17) neonates. Method: Soluble
HLA-G1/G5 was estimated in the maternal sera at different time points in
pregnancy using sandwich ELISA. Linear mixed models were built and
compared to study the association between sHLA-G levels during pregnancy
and SGA births. Main Outcome Measure:Birth of SGA or AGA neonates.
Results: No significant difference was observed in the sHLA-G
trajectories during pregnancy in mothers delivering SGA as compared to
those delivering AGA (p-value = 0.5677). A trend towards higher sHLA-G
levels at the first trimester of pregnancy (<14weeks of
gestation) was observed in mothers delivering SGA neonates (Median=
41.71, IQR= 21.31 to 71.38) as compared to those delivering AGA neonates
(Median=37.58, IQR=19.05 to 73.57). Conclusion: The trajectory of sHLA-G
during the course of pregnancy is not different between mothers
delivering SGA and those delivering AGA. However, a trend towards higher
sHLA-G levels at the first trimester was observed in mothers delivering
SGA, which could be explored further in studies with larger sample
sizes. Funding: “Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and
Technology, Government of India (BT/07/IYBA/2013-12), (grant
BT/PR9983/MED/97/194/2013)” and “Grand Challenges India–All Children
Thriving Program, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
(grant BIRAC/GCI/0114/03/14-ACT)”. Keywords: India, SGA, pregnancy,
sHLA-G