Amniotic Fluid-Soluble Form of Triggering Receptors Expressed on Myeloid Cells: A Physiologic Constituent at Term.

BACKGROUND: Triggering receptors expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) are innate immune receptors that mediate inflammatory response. In recent times, the role of these receptors has become the focus of several studies in the gestational context. Evaluation of soluble TREM-1 concentration in normal pregnancy is scarce, and no data are available on the levels of this receptor in the last weeks of normal pregnancy.

METHOD: Amniotic fluid (AF) samples were obtained from 77 patients in the last weeks of normal pregnancy during cesarean section, and the soluble form of TREM-1 (sTREM-1) levels determined using specific sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit.

RESULTS: sTREM-1 was detectable in all AF samples, and its levels did not vary in the last weeks of third trimester pregnancy. There was no correlation between sTREM-1 levels in AF and advancing gestational age.

CONCLUSION: sTREM-1 is a physiologic constituent of AF and its levels are not temporally regulated in pregnancies at term.