Diagnosis and monitoring of pregnancy in mice: correlations between maternal weight, fetal and placental mass and the maternal serum levels of progesterone, pregnancy-associated murine protein-2 and alpha-fetoprotein |
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Authors: | J Hau H J Skovgaard Jensen |
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Institution: | Department of Veterinary Pathology, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Copenhagen, Denmark. |
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Abstract: | Outbred Bom:NMRI mice were weighed daily for 18 days from observation of a vaginal plug. In a separate experiment, fetuses and placentae were weighed on each day of pregnancy. Pregnancy can be determined with 99% certainty on day 12 of gestation by the maternal body weight increase from day 1. The pregnancy-specific proteins alpha-fetoprotein (m-AFP) and pregnancy-associated murine protein-2 (PAMP-2), of fetal and placental origin respectively, were detectable on days 8 and 10 in the maternal circulation. Significant correlations were observed between m-AFP and fetal weight and PAMP-2 and placental weight. These markers may therefore be useful in the monitoring of fetal growth and placental growth respectively. |
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