Chorioamnionitis increases the risk and severity of persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn in preterm infants. Exposure of preterm fetal lambs to intra-amniotic (IA) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces chorioamnionitis, causes hypertrophy of pulmonary resistance arterioles, and alters expression of pulmonary vascular growth proteins. We investigated the cardiopulmonary and systemic hemod...

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to evaluate the amniotic fluid protein profiles and the intensity of intraamniotic inflammatory response to Ureaplasma spp. and other bacteria, using the multiplex xMAP technology. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was undertaken in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospital Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic. A total of 145 pregnant women with ...

Activated protein C (APC) is an important anticoagulant which plays a role in pathophysiology of pregnancy, e.g. in maintenance of the uteroplacental circulation and development of the fetus as well as in pathogenesis of preeclampsia. The study objective was to compare the levels of the respective components of the protein C system (protein C, PC; protein S, PS; thrombomodulin, TM) as well as t...

OBJECTIVE Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a serious complication associated with preterm birth. A growing body of evidence suggests a role for prenatal factors in its pathogenesis. Metabolomics allows simultaneous characterization of low molecular weight compounds and may provide a picture of such a complex condition. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether an unbiased metabolomic ana...

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is commonly defined as an estimated fetal weight of less than the 10th percentile. While 70% of these are small for normal reasons and not at risk, 30% are pathologically small at risk for numerous complications including fetal death. In the late preterm IUGR fetus (>34 weeks), prematurity risks less and the risk of fetal demise becomes the primary concern...

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is the most common pregnancy-specific liver disease that typically presents in the third trimester. The clinical features are maternal pruritus in the absence of a rash and deranged liver function tests, including raised serum bile acids. Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes, including spon...

Placental inflammatory response (PIR) is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes such as sepsis, cerebral palsy, low birth weight, preterm birth, and neonatal mortality. However, there is an urgent need for noninvasive and sensitive biomarkers for prediction of PIR. In this study, we evaluated the clinical usefulness of maternal serum inflammatory markers for prediction of PIR in women with i...