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DOI: 10.1055/s-0036-1593221
Serum concentrations of soluble B7-H4 in early pregnancy are elevated in women with preterm premature rupture of membranes
Aim of the study: An adequate immune tolerance plays a key role in successful pregnancy. B7-H4 are co-stimulatory molecules, responsible for the negative regulation of T-cell-mediated immune responses. We analyzed soluble B7-H4 (sB7-H4) serum levels and its association with (preterm) premature rupture of membranes (pPROM).
Method of study: Maternal sB7-H4 were determined with ELISA (BIOZOL, Eching, Germany) in 66 patients between 11 – 13 weeks' gestation who developed pPROM < 370/7 weeks' gestation (n = 21), PROM at term (n = 18) and in control group (n = 27).
Results: Substantially higher sB7-H4 blood serum concentration levels were found in patients who developed pPROM compared to patients who delivered at term with PROM and controls. An OR of 1.39 (95%-CI: 1.17 – 1.77; p = 0.002) per ng/mL sB7-H4 was observed, indicating an increased risk for developing pPROM later on in pregnancy. The AUC estimate of 0.81 indicated that sB7-H4 had some predictive ability to discriminate between pPROM cases and controls.
Outcome |
AUC (95% CI) |
Threshold |
Specificity (%) |
Sensitivity (%) |
pPROM |
0.81 (0.66, 0.93) |
12.1 ng/mL |
96.3 |
61.9 |
Conclusion: sB7-H4 is a crucial factor in modulation of the immune system activity during pregnancy. Women with increased sB7-H4-levels in the first trimester of pregnancy may be at elevated risk to develop pPROM.