Serum Galectin 7 is Not Useful to Predict Abortion in the First Trimester

ABSTRACT

Objective: Galectins are animal lectins that bind to surface glycoproteins expressed at the fetal-maternal interface. The aim of this prospective case–control study was to investigate the possible relationship between levels of maternal serum galectin-7 and threatened abortion (TA) and to determine whether serum galectin-7 had any prognostic value. Methods: This prospective study was conducted between August 2014 and February 2015. Included in the study were 31 consecutive pregnant women who were hospitalized for TA between 6 and 14 weeks of gestation and 33 healthy gestational age matched pregnant women without any symptoms of miscarriage. Serum galectin-7 levels were measured via ELISA. Results: The mean serum galectin-7 levels of the two groups were not significantly different (31 TA patients: 2.84 ± 0.43 pg/mL, 33 controls: 2.785 ± 0.32 pg/mL, p = 0.543). Six pregnancies in the TA group resulted in abortion (19.4%). Conclusion: Serum galectin-7 was not useful for predicting prognosis in TA.

KEYWORDS:

• galectin-7
• pregnancy
• threatened abortion
• prognosis
• lectins

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. No specific funding was obtained.