Author(s)

Katsuhiko Naruse, Taketoshi Noguchi, Shozo Yoshida, Taihei Tsunemi, Hiroshi Shigetomi, Hidekazu Oi, Hiroshi Kobayashi

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Nara Medical University, Nara, Japan.

Objective: To determine if an amniotic fluid (AF)-specific marker is present and if its concentration changes with the presence of labor. Study Design: Twenty-six healthy women who gave birth to healthy newborns at term during the period from July 2009 to January 2010 were included in the study. Six candidate markers were assessed by commercially available ELISA kits: interleukin (IL)-6, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen, insulin-like growth factor (IGFBP)-1, osteopontin (OPN), CA125, and sialyl Tn (STN). Results: The AF/maternal serum (MS) measurement based on IL-6 or SCC has proved to be superior to IGFBP-1, CA125, OPN and STN. Women with spontaneous labor at term had significantly higher IL-6 and IGFBP-1 concentrations in AF compared with those without labor. No significant differences were observed in the AF concentrations of SCC, OPN, CA125 and STN between women with labor and those not in labor. Conclusion: Our observation of IL-6 and SCC in AF may open a new area of research to assess their usefulness as biological markers of obstetrical disorders.

Amniotic Fluid; Biomarker; Interleukin-6; Squamous Cell Carcinoma Antigen

Naruse, K. , Noguchi, T. , Yoshida, S. , Tsunemi, T. , Shigetomi, H. , Oi, H. and Kobayashi, H. (2012) Identification of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) as amniotic fluid-specific markers. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2, 147-150. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2012.22028.