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Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on September 7, 2006
Human Reproduction 2006 21(11):3019-3021; doi:10.1093/humrep/del058
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. for Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Correlation between first trimester fetal bone length and maternal serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A)

Federico Prefumo1,3, Silvana Canini2, Angela Crovo1, Daniela Pastorino1, Pier Luigi Venturini1 and Pierangela De Biasio1

1 U.O. Ostetricia e Ginecologia, Istituto G. Gaslini, Università di Genova and 2 Laboratorio di Analisi, Istituto G. Gaslini, Genova, Italy

3 To whom correspondence should be addressed at: U.O. Ostetricia e Ginecologia, Istituto G. Gaslini, Largo Gaslini 5, 16147 Genova, Italy. E-mail: fprefumo{at}sgul.ac.uk

BACKGROUND: Pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) is produced by the embryo and placenta during pregnancy, and its maternal serum concentrations are related to subsequent fetal growth. Evidence from animal models and in vitro experiments suggests that PAPP-A is particularly involved in the regulation of bone development. The aim of this study was to assess the correlation between late first trimester fetal bone length and maternal serum levels of PAPP-A. METHODS: In a cross-sectional observational study, ultrasound measurements of fetal long bones and fluorimetric immunoassays for maternal serum PAPP-A were performed in 514 singleton pregnancies at 10–14 weeks of gestation. RESULTS: There were 501 uncomplicated pregnancies. There were significant correlations between PAPP-A values and length of humerus, femur and tibia [r values 0.12 (P = 0.01), 0.11 (P = 0.01) and 0.10 (P = 0.03), respectively]. The association with the length of ulna and foot did not reach statistical significance (r values 0.08 and –0.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal serum PAPP-A levels at 10–14 weeks of gestation are significantly associated with the length of fetal long bones such as humerus, femur and tibia. This provides further evidence that PAPP-A may be involved in the regulation of bone development.

Key words: bone growth/bone length/fetus/PAPP-A


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