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A Longitudinal Study of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Women With Uncomplicated Pregnancies Throughout Gestation

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Abstract

Pregnancy is associated with increased oxidative stress, and exaggeration of oxidative damage is considered important in pregnancy complications such as preeclampsia. There is, however, only scattered information regarding the longitudinal change of oxidative stress during pregnancy. We surmised that the placenta is the cause of the increased oxidative stress during pregnancy and hypothesized that the amount of placenta-derived cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma is correlated with maternal oxidative stress status. Blood and urine samples were collected at different stages of gestation and 6 to 8 weeks postpartum from 105 women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Additionally, 40 healthy women of reproductive age, but not pregnant, were recruited as controls. All oxidative stress markers, including urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), plasma 8-isoprostane, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, were increased in the third trimester, and most of them returned to nonpregnant levels postpartum. Furthermore, the DYS14 gene of the Y chromosome was quantified from plasma samples obtained at 26 to 30 weeks’ gestation in 54 women who later delivered a male infant. Significant associations were noted between plasma concentrations of the DYS14 gene and the levels of urinary 8-OHdG and plasma 8-isoprostane, suggesting an association between the breakdown of syncytiotrophoblast and maternal oxidative stress during pregnancy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Taipei, 199 Dun-hua North Road, Taipei, 105, Taiwan

    Tai-Ho Hung MD, PhD, Liang-Ming Lo MD, Tsung-Hong Chiu MD, Meng-Jen Li BA, Yi-Lin Yeh MS & T’sang-T’ang Hsieh MD

  2. Department of Chinese Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan

    Tai-Ho Hung MD, PhD

  3. Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Cheng Hsin Rehabilitation Medical Center, 45 Cheng Hsin Street, Taipei, 112, Taiwan

    Szu-Fu Chen MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Tai-Ho Hung MD, PhD
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  2. Liang-Ming Lo MD
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  3. Tsung-Hong Chiu MD
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  4. Meng-Jen Li BA
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  5. Yi-Lin Yeh MS
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  6. Szu-Fu Chen MD, PhD
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  7. T’sang-T’ang Hsieh MD
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Szu-Fu Chen MD, PhD or T’sang-T’ang Hsieh MD.

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Hung, TH., Lo, LM., Chiu, TH. et al. A Longitudinal Study of Oxidative Stress and Antioxidant Status in Women With Uncomplicated Pregnancies Throughout Gestation. Reprod. Sci. 17, 401–409 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719109359704

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1933719109359704

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