Maternal serum ADAM12s in the late first trimester of pregnancies with Trisomy 21

Background ADAM12s is a placenta-derived glycoprotein that is involved in growth and differentiation, and has been shown to be a potential first-trimester and second-trimester marker of Trisomy 21 and other aneuploides. Maternal ADAM12s concentrations show a considerable temporal variation with gestational age and here we study the levels at 11-13 weeks of gestation to establish the effectiveness or otherwise at a time when other established markers are used. Materials and Methods Samples collected as part of routine first-trimester screening were retrieved from storage. In total, 46 samples from pregnancies with Trisomy 21 were identified and collected between 11 and 13 weeks of gestation-of these 83% had been identified by combined first-trimester screening. A series of 414 gestational age-matched samples collected during the same period formed the control group. ADAM12s was measured by a new DELFIA assay incorporating two monoclonals (6E6 and 8F8). Results were expressed as weight-corrected multiples of the median (MoM). Results The median MoM ADAM12s rose from 0.914 at 11 weeks to 1.032 at 13 weeks. Conclusions Combining the data from this study and other published studies suggests that ADAM12s is unlikely to be of much additional value when screening for Trisomy 21 in the period 11-13 weeks. More studies are required looking at the potential of ADAM12s prior to 10 weeks. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.