An electroimmuno-assay of the pregnancy-specific β₁-glycoprotein (sp₁) in normal and pathological pregnancies, and its clinical value compared to human chorionic somato-mammotropin (hcs)

Abstract

A 95% reference interval for the pregnancy-specific β₁-glycoprotein (SP¹) was established on the basis of 299 samples from 254 normal pregnant women by electroimmuno-assay (rocket immunoelectrophoresis). A positive correlation was found between SP₁ and the human chorionic somato-mammotropin (HCS). The SP₁ concentration in maternal blood was halved about 30 hours after separation of the placenta at delivery. Thus emergency analyses would be of little value in detecting acute placentae failure. 172 determinations of SP₁ in maternal sera were carried out on 56 pregnant women with various types of pathological pregnancies. To assess the clinical value of SP₁ a comparison with HCS (HPL) was made. It was concluded that SP₁ could possibly be a valuable parameter for monitoring and discovering pathological pregnancies. Larger investigations, however, must be performed to decide whether SP₁ determinations will provide more extensive information than other laboratory analyses presently used.