Adenosine deaminase (ADA), an enzyme essential for the differentiation of lymphoid cells, has been used for monitoring diseases with altered immunity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in serum ADA activity throughout normal pregnancy. We measured the catalytic values of serum ADA from 202 normal pregnant women using a commercial kit. Subjects were divided into four groups according to the gestational age in weeks (Gwks) (Group I: 5-9 Gwks [n=58]; Group II: 15-20 Gwks [n= 63]; Group III: 24-30 Gwks [n=34]; Group IV: 30-39 Gwks [n=47]). The serum ADA levels for the Groups I, II, III, and IV were as follows: 20.1±6.9 IU/L, 20.0±7.6 IU/L, 37.9±19.9 IU/L, and 24.5±8.6 IU/L, respectively. The serum ADA activity of group III was significantly higher than the other groups (p<0.05). However, there was no significant correlation between the Gwks and the serum ADA activity. Furthermore, other parameters, such as maternal age (p=0.29), gestational age at delivery (p=0.07), delivery mode (p=0.39), and birth weight (p=0.59) had no correlation with ADA activity. Reference values of serum ADA in normal pregnancy may provide important database for making clinical decisions in pregnancies complicated by conditions where cellular immunity has been altered.

ObjectiveNephrin is one of the slit membrane proteins of podocytes in the kidney. It is known that the nephrin is shed in the urine in nephropathy accompanying proteinuira. So the aim of this study was to evaluate the difference in the serum nephrin expression between normal and preeclamptic pregnancies. MethodsA total of 20 pregnant women from May to September 2008 who received prenatal care and underwent delivery at our institute participated in the study. The preeclamptic group includes 13 women diagnosed as preeclampsia and a normal group of 7. Their serum were collected before delivery and analyzed by Western blotting for comparing serum nephrin expression. ResultsThere was no difference in age, body weight of pregnant women, blood urea nitrogen, serum creatinine, urine creatinine level and gestational age between two groups. However, preeclampsia group had significantly higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure (P<0.001), serum soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 level (P= 0.002), and lower birth weight (P=0.011). In serum Western blot analysis, serum nephrin was detected in 10 of 13 in preeclampsia women (76.9%) but only in 2 of 7 (28.6%) in normal pregnancy women showing statistically significant difference (P=0.032). ConclusionA higher prevalence of nephrin expression in the maternal serum was found in the preeclampsia when compared to the normal pregnancy.