S100B Protein in Biological Fluids: A Tool for Perinatal Medicine

• Published in: Clinical chemistry (Baltimore, Md.) Vol. 48; no. 12; pp. 2097 - 2104
• Main Authors: Michetti, Fabrizio, Gazzolo, Diego
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Am Assoc Clin Chem 01-12-2002; American Association for Clinical Chemistry; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Animals; Asphyxia Neonatorum - diagnosis; Biological activity; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers - analysis; Body Fluids - chemistry; Brain damage; Brain Diseases - diagnosis; Brain Diseases - epidemiology; Brain Diseases - prevention & control; Cerebral palsy; Cerebral Palsy - diagnosis; Cerebrospinal fluid; Children with disabilities; Congenital Abnormalities - diagnosis; Female; Fetuses; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; Humans; Immunoassays; Infant, Newborn; Intracranial Hemorrhages - diagnosis; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Lesions; Magnetic resonance imaging; Management. Prenatal diagnosis; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous. Technology; Nerve Growth Factors - analysis; Nervous system; Newborn babies; Obstetrics; Pathology. Cytology. Biochemistry. Spectrometry. Miscellaneous investigative techniques; Perinatal Care - methods; Pregnancy; Pregnancy. Fetus. Placenta; Prenatal Diagnosis - methods; Proteins; Reproducibility; S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; S100 Proteins - analysis; Spectrum analysis; Tomography; Traumatic brain injury; Ultrasonic imaging; Human; Cerebral palsy; Biological fluid; Nervous system diseases; Oxygen; Biochemical analysis; Pregnancy disorders; Protein S 100B; Biological marker; Cerebral disorder; Ripening; Fetal diseases; Newborn diseases; Newborn; Central nervous system disease; Delivery disorders; Fetus; Hypoxia; Diagnosis; Technique; Quantitative analysis; Brain (vertebrata)
• ISSN: 0009-9147; 1530-8561
• DOI: 10.1093/clinchem/48.12.2097

The diagnosis of perinatal insults currently relies on adequate documentation of general medical and obstetric factors and on radiologic and laboratory assessments. The measurement of brain constituents such as S100B protein may offer an alternative and direct indicator of cell damage in the nervous system when clinical and radiologic assessments are still silent and has the additional advantage of providing a quantitative indicator of the extent of brain lesions. S100B protein has been measured by several immunoassays in biological fluids (i.e., cerebrospinal fluid, blood, amniotic fluid, and urine) from fetuses and newborns at high risk of perinatal brain damage. S100B protein in biological fluids increased at an early stage when standard monitoring procedures were still silent in the study populations that later developed brain damage. S100B concentration was also significantly correlated with the extent of brain lesions. S100B protein appears to satisfy the criteria for a marker for brain injuries in perinatal medicine: (a) simple to perform measurements with good reproducibility; (b) detection in a variety of biological fluids, possibly reducing perinatal stress related to testing; (c) possible use in longitudinal monitoring because of its 1-h half-life; and (d) well-established use as an early and quantitative marker of brain lesions/damage. Finally, because of the neurotrophic role putatively played by S100B, its measurement in biological fluids at pre-/perinatal ages makes it a candidate for the laboratory evaluation of brain maturation.