SUMMARY – Premature infants are susceptible to oxidative stress that causes neonatal disease such as retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Oxidative stress is an imbalance between the production of pro-oxidants and the ability of the body to detoxify their harmful effects by antioxidants. The proliferative phase 2 ROP occurs at around 33 rd postmenstrual week (pmw). The purpose of our study was to evaluate the pro-oxidant/antioxidant status in preterm infants at 33 rd pmw. The study included 59 premature infants. ROP was classified according to the International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity. Total oxidative status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity were determined spectrophotometrically. The values of the pro-oxidants TOS and MDA were significantly higher in infants with ROP as compared to infants without ROP (p<0.05 both). There were no significant differences in the values of TAS and PON1 between the infants with and without ROP. According to study results, TOS and MDA are good markers of oxidative stress, whereas TAS and PON1 activity are unreliable in assessing antioxidant protection.

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Insulin like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is a regulator of intrauterine growth, and circulating concentrations are reduced in intrauterine growth-restricted fetuses. The aim of our study was to investigate the relationship between IGF-1 levels in newborns and intrauterine growth, expressed as birth weight (BW). The research was designed as a cross-sectional study. The study included 71 premature newborns, gestational age (GA) ≤33 weeks. Quantitative determination of IGF-1 was performed in the 33 rd post-menstrual week (pmw) to make the measurements more comparable. We used an enzyme-bound immunosorbent test for quantitative determination of IGF-1. Our results showed the mean IGF-1 level in premature newborns in 33 rd pmw to be 23.1±4.56 (range 15.44-39.75) μg/L. There was no difference in IGF-1 values between male (23.1±4.98 μg/L) and female (23.1±4.87 μg/L) newborns. There was no significant difference in the average IGF-1 levels between male and female newborns with BW <50 th and BW >50 th percentile for GA either (p>0.50). Only BW <33 rd percentile newborns had a statistically significantly lower IGF-1 level compared to newborns with greater BW. Based on our results, it is concluded that serum IGF-1 level reflects intrauterine growth only in BW <33 rd percentile newborns. This fact could be used for further therapeutic purposes.

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For the first time, we assessed non-cholesterol sterols (NCS) longitudinally during high-risk pregnancy and preeclampsia. We found that the 1 st -trimester lathosterol was higher in the preeclampsia group, indicating cholesterol synthesis could be increased from the early beginning in these women, and it could be singled out as a potential biomarker of preeclampsia. Lack of significant change in cholesterol precursors throughout the pregnancy in women with preeclampsia may be related to lower high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in these women. However, the NCS composition in HDL fraction should be analyzed to confirm the previous assumption. Finally, we found that cholesterol homeostasis, i.e., the balance between cholesterol synthesis and absorption, is dysregulated in women with preeclampsia. Thus, cholesterol profiling might detect subtle changes in cholesterol metabolism in preeclampsia.

Background/Aim. The aim of this study was to investigate the structural and functional modifications of HDL particles longitudinally through a high-risk pregnancy for preeclampsia development, in women who remained under the risk until the delivery and those who developed preeclampsia. Methods. The study group included 71 pregnant women who remained under risk of developing preeclampsia until delivery and 20 pregnant women who developed preeclampsia. The blood was sampled toward the end of each trimester and before the delivery. The distribution of HDL particles was determined by the vertical 3-31% polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis method. The antioxidative capacity of HDL particles was measured by the action of HDL-associated antioxidative enzyme, paraoxonase 1 (PON1). PON1 activity was determined by the kinetic spectrophotometric method in serum. Results. The results have shown that the proportions of HDL 2b particles significantly increased in the 2nd trimester (P?0.05) and remained higher until the end of pregnancy in the high-risk group. PON1 activity was significantly higher in the 3rd trimester (P<0.05) of the high-risk pregnancy group. In the preeclampsia group, we found that the proportions of HDL 3a particles significantly decreased in the 2nd trimester (P<0.05) and stayed lower until the end of pregnancy. PON1 activity was not changed during the pregnancy with preeclampsia. Conclusion. Dyslipidemia in pregnancy could be associated with different modifications of HDL particles. Adaptive pregnancy mechanisms expressed as a functional modification of HDL particles in pregnant women with high risk for preeclampsia seem to lack.