Maternal Serum ADAM-12 as a Potential Marker for Different Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes

Objective: To investigate first-trimester ADAM-12 levels in pregnancies which later develop hypertensive and growth complications. Methods: First-trimester serum samples (11⁺⁰ to 13⁺⁶ weeks) were retrieved from frozen storage. 47 samples with at least one of the following adverse outcomes: pre-eclampsia (PE), small for gestational age, HELLP syndrome and gestational hypertension were analysed and 452 controls matched to the cases by gestational age and length of storage were analysed. ADAM-12 levels were measured by the automated AutoDELFIA immunoassay platform. Results: ADAM-12 was found to increase with gestational age (11⁺⁰ to 13⁺⁶ weeks) and decrease with increasing maternal weight and in women who smoked. After correction, ADAM-12 median multiples of the median were increased in cases with HELLP syndrome, all PE and PE only. Conclusion: The increased first-trimester levels of ADAM-12 in PE and HELLP are in contrast with previous findings. The usefulness of ADAM-12 as a marker for adverse outcomes is still unclear.