Ota, Yoriko

太田, 順子

ORIGINAL PAPER

A sandwich enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was newly developed for placental protein 14 (PP_<14>), whose localization was clearly demonstrated in the placental villi, decidua and nonpregnant endometrium. Using this assay, serum PP_<14> concentration was measured in healthy individuals, normal pregnant women, and patients with gynecologic diseases. The mean serum PP_<14> level in nonpergnant women was 5.0ng/ml, which was significantly higher (p<0.05) than in healthy men. In relation to menstrual cycle, the mean level was the highest (10.5ng/ml) in the premenstrual phase, and lowest(1.7ng/ml) in the ovulatory phase. These results confirmed the previous report that serum PP_<14> level was influenced by hormonal environment, especially by progesterone. In normal pregnant women, serum PP_<14> level was significantly higher in the first trimester (360ng/ml, p<0.05) than that in the later stages of pregnancy, like human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). It was suggested that the synthesis of PP_<14> in decidua or villi might also be influenced by hormonal environment and/or pregnancy-or placenta-associated substances. Among patients with untreated gynecologic diseases, endometriosis patients showed a significantly higher mean serum level (19.6ng/ml, p<0.05) than the others did. Serum PP_<14> level was not elevated in gynecologic malignancies. Furthermore, the mean serum PP_<14> level was far lowered after successful treatment (4.4ng/ml) than that before treatment. PP_<14> was supposed to be a new possible index of the activity of endometriosis.