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Concentrations of retinoids in early pregnancy and in newborns and their mothers^1,2,3

¹ From the Institute of Laboratory Medicine, Department of Clinical Chemistry, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.

Background: Retinoids are vital for embryonic development; both excesses and deficiencies of vitamin A are known to give similar patterns of birth defects. Concentrations of retinol in newborns and in pregnant women have been investigated, but concentrations of the biologically active metabolite all-trans retinoic acid and its isomer 13-cis retinoic acid have not.

Objective: We measured serum concentrations of these retinoid derivatives in newborns and their mothers and in women in the first trimester of pregnancy, when embryonic differentiation (organogenesis) takes place.

Design: In this descriptive study, 10 newborns from normal deliveries and their mothers and 16 healthy women in their first trimester of pregnancy were studied. Seventeen healthy women served as control subjects. all-trans and 13-cis Retinoic acid and retinol concentrations were measured by HPLC.

Results: The newborns had significantly lower retinol concentrations (1.0 µmol/L) than did their mothers (1.7 µmol/L; P = 0.013). Serum all-trans retinoic acid was also significantly lower in the newborns (3.4 nmol/L) than in their mothers (5.8 nmol/L; P = 0.008). In addition, serum concentrations of 13-cis retinoic acid were significantly lower in the newborns (2.0 nmol/L) than in their mothers (2.6 nmol/L; P = 0.005). The serum concentrations of all-trans retinoic acid and retinol did not correlate in any group.

Conclusion: Retinol concentrations do not accurately reflect the concentrations of the biologically active derivative all-trans retinoic acid.

Key Words: 13-cis Retinoic acid • all-trans retinoic acid • retinoids • vitamin A • newborns • pregnancy • mothers • maternal-fetal exchange • teratogens

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