Summary
PAPP-A is a macromolecular glycoprotein associated with human pregnancy. In vitro, PAPP-A is produced by explant cultures of trophoblast and decidua. The present work was undertaken to see if the presence of decidua had any effect on the disappearance rate of PAPP-A after removal of the placenta either by surgery or by spontaneous delivery. PAPP-A was measured before and at different times after a normal delivery (n = 6), after a termination of early pregnancy (n = 11) and after surgery for ectopic pregnancy (n = 8).
The half life of PAPP-A after normal delivery (52.9 ± 25.8 h, SD) was significantly (p < 0.03) less than after a first trimester termination (93.9 ± 41.6 h). After surgery for ectopic pregnancy in patients with curetted decidua, PAPP-A disappeared significantly faster (p < 0.005) then in patients with intact decidua (84.1 ± 17.8 vs 241.2 ± 81.5 h). These results indicate that PAPP-A continues to be produced by the decidua after removal of the trophoblast in early pregnancy.
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Bischof, P., Amaudruz, M., Weil-Franck, C. et al. The disappearance rate of Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A (PAPP-A) after the end of normal and abnormal pregnancies. Arch. Gynecol. 236, 93–98 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02134005
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02134005