Evaluation of serum neopterin, periostin, Tenascin-C, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 levels in obese pregnant women

To investigate the role of extracellular matrix proteins in the molecular mechanism of inflammatory response in obese pregnant women by comparing serum levels of neopterin, periostin, Tenascin-C, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1, and matrix metalloproteinase-2 between obese and normal weight pregnant women in the third trimester.A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted between April 2021 and December 2021. A total of 84 pregnant women were included and three groups were formed with 28 participants in each group.Serum levels of neopterin, periostin, Tenascin-C and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 were significantly higher in class II-III obese pregnant women than in class I obese and normal-weight women (p=0.002, p0.001, p0.001, and p0.001, respectively). There was no significant difference in serum matrix metalloproteinase-2 levels between the groups (p=0.769). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that Tenascin-C and periostin were effective in predicting pre-eclampsia [area under the curve (AUC)=0.82, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.72-0.90, p0.001 and AUC=0.71, 95% CI, 0.60-0.80, p=0.007, respectively].This study demonstrated that class II-III obese pregnant women had significantly higher serum levels of neopterin, periostin, Tenascin-C, and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 in the third trimester. These higher serum levels may be associated with the adverse perinatal effects of obesity during pregnancy.