Conclusions
This study demonstrated that, in healthy pregnant women, PCSK9 levels
are associated to the outcomes of pregnancy occurring at delivery
(approximately 28–30 weeks after PCSK9 was quantified). These findings
are of special interest because they suggest that PCSK9 regulation is
modified early (possibly induced by air pollutants), which might have
consequences on the entire pregnancy. Therefore, the results of this
study advance current knowledge on how PCSK9 contributes to pregnancy,
and how it is associated with a number of variables potentially linked
to pregnancy diseases.
Disclosure of interests: All the Authors declare no competing
interests.
Contribution to authorship: VB, MR, NP conceived the study and
wrote the manuscript; CM measured PCSK9 and all the biochemical
variables and wrote the manuscript; SI performed all the statistical
analyses; AC and CS critically edited the manuscript; LF, LC, BI, MFG,
ED collected all the data and helped in biochemical analyses.
Details of ethics approval: Ethics committee of the Fondazione
IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico (approval number
681/2017)
Fundings: Cariplo Foundation (2015-0552 to MR)