Longitudinal analysis of maternal serum Follistatin concentration in normal pregnancy and preeclampsia.

Objective: Follistatin (FST) is a regulator of the biological activity of activin A (Act A), binding and blocking it, which could contribute to the modulation of its pro-inflammatory activity during pregnancy. We sought to investigate, in this nested case-control study, FST serum levels during normal pregnancy and correlate it with the FST profile in preeclamptic pregnant women, normal pregnant women followed 3 months postpartum and eumenorrheic nonpregnant women throughout the menstrual cycle.

Subjects And Methods: Follistatin serum levels determined by ELISA, biochemical and anthropometric variables were measured in normal pregnant (n = 28) and preeclamptic (n = 20) women during three periods of gestation.