Urinary and plasma epidermal growth factor levels are decreased in neonates with intrauterine growth retardation and in their mothers

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) concentrations in urine and plasma samples collected from pregnant women and neonates were measured by RIA. The EGF concentration of the first voided urine was higher in appropriate-for-date (AFD) neonates (33.9 ± 23.0 ng/mg creatinine) than in those with intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR; 23.5 ± 7.7 ng/mg creatinine, p < 0.05) and heavy-for-date (19.8 ± 5.2 ng/mg creatinine, p < 0.05) neonates. The urinary EGF concentration of pregnant women showed no marked changes throughout pregnancy. Urinary EGF concentrations of women with AFD fetuses (45.9 ± 31.2 ng/mg creatinine) did not differ significantly from those of women with diabetes (39.9 ± 26.8 ng/mg creatinine) or women with multiple fetuses (44.6 ± 30.6 ng/mg creatinine). However, women with IUGR fetuses showed lower urinary EGF concentrations (13.8 ± 7.4 ng/mg creatinine, p < 0.05) than women with AFD fetuses. Maternal and fetal platelet-poor plasma EGF concentrations at delivery were lower in the IUGR group (mother: 2.62 ± 0.38 ng/ml, fetus: 2.16 ± 0.07 ng/ml, respectively, p < 0.05 and p < 0.005) than in the AFD group (mother: 3.34 ± 0.64 ng/ml, fetus: 3.24 ± 0.93 ng/ml). In the IUGR group, the EGF concentration in fetal blood was always lower than that in maternal blood (p < 0.05), although the AFD group showed no such difference. These data suggest that EGF levels are closely related to fetal growth.