Table_1_Maternal blood inflammatory marker levels increased in fetuses with ventriculomegaly.XLSX

BackgroundFetal ventriculomegaly (VM) is one of the most common abnormalities of the central nervous system (CNS), which can be significantly identified by brain anomalies prenatally by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Aberrant white blood cells (WBCs) levels indicate that the maternal is suffering from the infection. Previous studies have confirmed that prenatal infection can affect fetal brain structure, but there is no research revealed the association between maternal blood parameters with fetal VM until now.
MethodsWe measured the width of the lateral ventricle of 142 fetuses, which were divided into the fetal VM group (n = 70) and the normal lateral ventricle group (n = 72). We compared maternal blood cell levels between the two groups and investigate potential biomarkers of fetal VM.
ResultHigh levels of maternal WBC and neutrophil (NE#) levels were observed in fetuses with VM (p < 0.001), while lymphocyte percentage, monocytes (MO#), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet were also increased in the fetal VM group (p = 0.033, 0.027, 0.034, and 0.025, respectively). receiver–operator curve (ROC) analysis suggested that WBC and NE# counts might be useful to distinguish fetuses with enlarged lateral ventricles (AUC = 0.688, 0.678, respectively).
ConclusionThe current study emphasizes the importance of maternal infection for fetal brain growth, which could provide important information for prenatal diagnosis of CNS anomalies. Future research needs longitudinal analysis and exploration of the influence of maternal blood inflammatory marker levels on fetal brain development.

背景：胎儿脑室扩张（Fetal ventriculomegaly, VM）是中枢神经系统（central nervous system, CNS）最常见的异常病变之一，产前磁共振成像（magnetic resonance imaging, MRI）可有效检出其脑部异常特征。白细胞（white blood cells, WBCs）水平异常提示母体存在感染。既往研究已证实产前感染可影响胎儿脑部结构，但截至目前尚无研究探讨母体血液参数与胎儿脑室扩张之间的关联。方法：本研究测量了142例胎儿的侧脑室宽度，将其分为胎儿脑室扩张组（n=70）与侧脑室正常组（n=72）。对比两组母体的血细胞水平，并探究胎儿脑室扩张的潜在生物标志物。结果：胎儿脑室扩张组母体的白细胞与中性粒细胞（neutrophil, NE#）水平显著升高（p<0.001）；同时该组淋巴细胞百分比、单核细胞（monocytes, MO#）、中性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值（neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio, NLR）及血小板（platelet）水平亦显著升高（分别对应p=0.033、0.027、0.034、0.025）。受试者工作特征曲线（receiver–operator curve, ROC）分析显示，白细胞计数与NE#计数可用于区分侧脑室扩张胎儿，其曲线下面积（Area Under Curve, AUC）分别为0.688与0.678。结论：本研究证实了母体感染对胎儿脑部发育的重要意义，可为中枢神经系统异常的产前诊断提供重要参考依据。未来需开展纵向研究，进一步探讨母体血液炎症标志物水平对胎儿脑部发育的影响。