Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein Action in Missed Abortion: A Significant Role for Pregnancy

This study was designed to assess the effects of expression and significance of soluble vascular endothelial growth factor-1 (sFlt-1), insulin-like growth factor bindingprotein-3 (IGFBP- 3), and pregnancy-related plasma protein A (PAPP-A) on missed abortion. The 80 cases of abortion patients were divided into two groups i.e. early abortion (n = 40) and missed abortion (n = 40); 20 healthy pregnant women who underwent physical examination were selected as normal group. The villus tissues of the three groups were collected and were subjected to the process of immunohistochemical staining. The expressions of sFlt-1, IGFBP- 3, and PAPP-A were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The positive expression was observed under a microscope. The expression level of sFlt-1 in normal group was lower than early abortion group and missed abortion group, the missed abortion group was lower than early abortion group, the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The expression level of IGFBP-3and PAPP-A in normal group was higher than early abortion group and missed abortion group, the missed abortion group was higher than early abortion group, the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The combined sensitivity and accuracy of sFlt-1, IGFBP-3, and PAPP-A were higher than the single detection of sFlt-1, IGFBP-3, and PAPP-A, and the specificity was lower than the single detection of sFlt-1, IGFBP-3, and PAPP-A, the difference was statistically significant. The current study evaluated various markers such as sFlt-1, IGFBP-3, and PAPP-A to assess expression and significance of these markers during the course of pregnancy. The joint detection of sFlt-1, IGFBP-3, and PAPP-A showed high accuracy, high sensitivity, while lower specificity. However, to employ these markers for the detection of the missed abortion more realistic approaches will be required including alternative mean of sampling and large population to draw a clear cut conclusion.

Automated summary

This study assessed the effects of sFlt-1, IGFBP-3, and PAPP-A on missed abortion, finding differences in their expression levels in different abortion situations. The joint detection of these markers showed high accuracy and sensitivity, but lower specificity. Further realistic approaches, including alternative sampling methods and large populations, are needed for detecting missed abortion.