Detection of levels of cholyglycine(CG) in maternal serum and fetal umbilical cord serum in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Objective To explore the possible mechanism of perinatal hypoxia by detecting the levels of cholyglycine(CG) in maternal serum and fetal umbilical cord serum in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy(ICP).Methods The subjects included twenty-nine pregnant women with ICP and their newborns,twenty-nine healthy pregnant women and their newborns as normal controls.The levels of CG in maternal serum and fetal umbilical vein serum were measured by radioimmunoassay respectively.Results ① The concentrations of CG both in serum of pregnant women with ICP and in their fetal umbilical cord serum were higher significantly than those of controls(P0.01);② A positive correlation in CG level between maternal serum and fetal umbilical cord serum in ICP group(rs=0.772,P0.001) existed;③ In control group,the concentration of CG in fetal umbilical cord serum was higher than that in maternal serum(P0.001).This state reversed in ICP,in which CG level in maternal serum was higher than that in fetal umbilical cord serum significantly (P0.001);④ The incidences of fetal distress and neonatal asphyxia were all higher in ICP than those in controls(24.1%vs 3.4%,P0.05).In ICP group, significantly higher umbilical cord serum CG concentration was found in hypoxic fetuses as compared with fetuses without hypoxia,(P0.01).Conclusion The high maternal concentration of bile acids in ICP could cause accumulation of these compounds in her fetus, and this may be one of the mechanisms of fetal anoxia in ICP.