Objective: The pathological picture in ischemic tissue injury shares features with the inflammatory response. Hypoxia-mediated induction of interleukin-6 (IL-6) could set in motion the mechanisms limiting inflammation in ischemia. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) represents a human model of chronic fetal hypoxia. The purpose of this study was a first-time exploration to determine whether cord blood obtained at the delivery of small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infants has increased concentrations of inflammatory markers.Study Design: Cord blood was collected from 20 SGA (term and nearterm) infants and 20 appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) controls. Infants exposed to maternal smoking, diabetes, maternal chronic diseases, or alcohol or drug use were excluded. Both groups had Apgar score X7 at 1 min with a normal cord pH (>7.25). Cord-serum cytokines and thrombopoietin (TPO) levels were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. C-reactive protein (CRP) was measured using a turbidometric immunoassay.Result: SGA infants had a significantly smaller birth weight than AGA controls, with a smaller gestation age by 1 week. There were significant elevations in IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF-a), CRP and TPO in the SGA compared with the AGA group, which persisted in multiple regression analysis even after gestational age was taken into account. Conclusion:As hypothesized, significant increases in the cord blood concentrations of known inflammatory markers were found in SGA infants compared with the controls.

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Our results suggest that soluble syndecan-1 is potentially a novel diagnostic marker in the management of inflammatory bowel disease patients. Its applicability as a surrogate, prognostic biomarker remains to be determined.