Evaluating pentraxin-3 and hypersensitivity CRP expression in obese pregnancies

Abstract

Objective: This study was designed to evaluate the correlation between serum pentraxin-3 (PTX3)/hypersensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) expression and obesity during pregnancy and their application as inflammatory biomarkers in obese pregnant women. Materials and methods: Pregnant women scheduled to experience a single-birth at our hospital between 2016 and 2017 were selected for this nested case–control study. These patients were evaluated for age and gestational age in the first trimester (11–14 weeks), had their body mass index (BMI) calculated and were subjected to an OGTT between Week 24 and 28 of pregnancy. Obese patients with normal OGTT and a BMI of ≥30 kg/m2 in the second trimester were selected as the obese group (OBE, n = 80), and non-obese pregnant women with normal OGTT with a BMI of <30 kg/m2 were selected as the control group (CON, n = 80). ELISA was used to detect the expression of PTX3 and hs-CRP. Results: The expression of both PTX3 and hs-CRP increased in both groups, with increasing gestational age (P < 0.05). However, hs-CRP level in Group OBE was increased, compared to that in the healthy control (P < 0.01), during the second trimester. PTX3 expression was also significantly higher in OBE samples than in the control (P < 0.05), during the third trimester; correlation analysis demonstrated that PTX3 was positively correlated with hs-CRP, BMI, fasting plasma glucose and HOMA-IR. Conclusions: The expression levels of both PTX3 and hs-CRP increased with increasing gestational age, and PTX3 expression was related to BMI, which serves to confirm the inflammatory response in these patients.

Keywords

• Pentraxin-3
• Hypersensitive CRP
• Obesity
• Pregnancy
• Inflammation