To evaluate whether the measurement of maternal serum activin A and inhibin A adds any clinically relevant information for the prediction of pre‐eclampsia in women with altered uterine artery Doppler velocimetry at 24 weeks of gestation.

The addition of activin A and inhibin A measurement to uterine artery Doppler velocimetry improved the early prediction of pre-eclampsia

Human placenta is an endocrine organ expressing and releasing proteins and steroid hormones. Activins and inhibins, growth factors belonging to the TGF-β superfamily, are also expressed by the placenta. When gestational disease occurs (i.e., hypertension, hypoxia, infection and preterm delivery), placenta takes part in the adaptive response to the adverse condition, and changes its hormonal secretory ability with the aim of modifying the adverse intrauterine environment. The changes in inhibin and activin secretion occurring in pathological pregnancies may be monitored and measured in clinically accessible sites such as maternal serum, amniotic fluid, saliva and urine. In this review, the putative diagnostic role of inhibins and activins in various pathological conditions (i.e., miscarriage and threatened abortion, ectopic pregnancy, trophoblast tumors, Down syndrome, intrauterine growth restriction, hypertensive disorders, and preterm delivery) will be discussed.

Maria Chiara Quadrifoglio

Papers

Diagnostic role of inhibins and activins in adverse pregnancy outcomes