Plasma Fibronectin In Saliva: Potential Marker For Miscarriage

Objectives: 1) To evaluate the association between fibronectin in saliva of pregnant ladies who had miscarriages. 2) To determine the association of fibronectin in saliva and periodontal disease. Methods: 25 pregnant ladies with history of miscarriage(s) were recruited as the test group and 16 pregnant ladies without any history of miscarriage served as control. All the subjects fulfilled a set of inclusion and exclusion criteria for this study. Periodontal status were also examined. Saliva was collected and the amount of fibronectins in the saliva samples was determined using an ELISA technique with commercially plasma fibronectin kit (Imuclone®). The results were analyzed with Mann Whitney Test. Results: i) Statistically significant higher median of fibronectin level in the saliva samples of the test group (0.10 µg/mL ) compared to the control group (0.00 µg/mL ) (p-value =0.023). ii) There was higher fibronectin level in saliva samples of both test and control groups who had periodontal disease than those of healthy subjects in both groups, however the difference was only statistically significant among control group (p-value= 0.046). Conclusion: Fibronectin in saliva samples was positively correlated to history of miscarriage and therefore may be a potential marker for miscarriage. For subjects with periodontal disease, there were prevailing higher fibronectin levels compared to healthy subjects. However, further studies should be conducted to confirm these findings.