Lack of correlation between amniotic fluid and maternal plasma contents of β-endorphin, β-lipotropin, and adrenocorticotropic hormone in normal and pathologic pregnancies

Peptide Signaling in Human Placenta and Membranes: Autocrine, Paracrine, and Endocrine Mechanisms*

“…Placenta may be sensitive to the changes induced by labor and secretes stress factors, while no significant changes of plasma CRF are observed in women delivering without stress, such as elective cesarean section (102, 105, 107). The same difference is observed for j3-END or NPY maternal levels: women undergoing cesarean section do not show any significant increase of plasma j3-END (50)(51)(52)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62) or NPY (72) observed in women with vaginal delivery after spontaneous labor. Since the plasma /3-END rise is reduced in women receiving analgesic treatments, /3-END increase may play a role in stressinduced analgesia (60).…”

“…Concentrations of J3-END in maternal plasma during pregnancy are unchanged (50,51), decreased (52), or show a progressive increase (40,53,54), and the question of a possible placental contribution to the circulating pool remains unsolved. According to the /3-END release in response to stress stimuli, all the studies agree on a large increase of plasma j3-END during labor and at parturition, even though they do not indicate whether the peptide has a pituitary or a placental origin (50)(51)(52)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62). Amniotic fluid j3-END concentration has a completely different gestational pattern, with the highest values in early pregnancy and with no changes at parturition (55,(63)(64)(65)(66)(67), suggesting a different (amnion, fetus) source in comparison to maternal plasma /3-END.…”

Human .BETA.-endorphin and .BETA.-lipotropin levels in maternal and fetal plasma and amniotic fluid.

“…These data suggest that the increase in maternal and fetal j3-EP were due to the stress caused by delivery. When both /3-EP and /3-LPH were measured in 11 paired maternal and fetal plasma samples, there was no significant correlation between the mother and baby as previously reported (Furuhashi et al 1983b Genazzani et al 1984). In this study, we measured the amniotic fluid and maternal and fetal plasma /3-EP levels, simultaneously.…”

Prostaglandin-Induced Mid-Pregnancy Abortion Increases Plasma and Amniotic Fluid Levels of β-Lipotropin and β-Endorphin

“…B-EP and B-LPH are present also in the amniotic fluid, where their concentrations at 1 st trimester are 10-to 20-fold higher than in the plasma of pregnant women, declining afterwards until term [7,8], The source of B-EP and B-LPH in the amniotic fluid is still to be clarified, but a preliminary report showed increased amniotic levels of B-EP in cases of 3rd trimester fetal distress, indicat ing an important contribution of the fetus [9].…”