Objective: To examine whether prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is present in amniotic fluid, whether the amniotic fluid PSA concentration changes with gestational age, and whether there is an association between amniotic fluid PSA and fetal sex. Methods: The PSA concentration was measured in the amniotic fluid of 48 pregnant women. Thirty-four samples were obtained during routine amniotic fluid analyses performed during gestational weeks 16–18, whereas 14 samples were obtained during cesarean section performed after gestational week 36. Results: PSA was detected in all amniotic fluid samples. The median amniotic fluid PSA was 0.193 ng/ml during gestational weeks 16–18 and 0.39 ng/ml after gestational week 36 (p = 0.1). Furthermore, no significant association was seen between amniotic fluid PSA and fetal sex. The median amniotic fluid PSA level was 0.233 ng/ml for the 21 boys and 0.222 ng/ml for the 27 girls investigated (p = 0.72). Conclusions: These results confirm recent literature reports that PSA may serve as a growth regulator during normal fetal development. However, further studies are necessary to elucidate the exact role of PSA during fetal development.

Keywords:
Prostate-specific antigen, Body fluids, Amniotic fluid, Fetal development
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1999
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