Zeitschrift für genetische Störungen und genetische Berichte

Fetuin A Concentration in the Amniotic Fluid of Fetuses with Down Syndrome

Salih Burcin Kavak, Ebru Celik Kavak,Askin Sen, Rasit Ilhan, Murat Kaya, Ekrem Sapmaz, ozgur Arat, Sel?uk Kaplan and Melike Baspinar

 Fetuin A Concentration in the Amniotic Fluid of Fetuses with Down Syndrome

Background: Fetuin-A is a plasma protein called Alfa 2- Heremans Schmid glycoprotein. During the fetal life, it is the major component of non-collagenous bone matrix. The aim of this study was to examine the probable variation of Fetuin A which is produced by the fetal liver and trophoblastic tissue and found in abundance in the amniotic fluid Methods: Twenty cases in which amniocentesis were performed were included in the study between December 2012 and December 2013. Amniotic fluid samples were collected from women who underwent amniocentesis in the second trimester of pregnancy. Conventional cytogenetic culture was performed and ten fetuses with Down Syndrome (DS) were identified. They were classified as Group 1 and ten fetuses with normal karyotype were classified as Group 2. Levels of FetuinA in the amniotic fluid were measured in each group. Results: Age, gender, gestational age, obstetrics history and body mass index of the cases in Group 1 and Group 2 were similar. Mean amnion fluid Fetuin-A levels in Group 1 was 3.5 ± 0.4 ng/mL and these values were detected to be 4.7 ± 0.7 ng/mL in Group 2. There was statistically significant difference between the mean amniotic fluid Fetuin-A levels of two groups. (P=0.001 from the Mann-Whitney U test). Conclusion: In the present study, amnion fluid Fetuin-A levels were found to be significantly lower in the presence of DS. Decreased Fetuin-A levels may be effective on antenatal and postnatal developments of fetuses with DS. By the clarification of its importance treatment modalities may be developed.