Table 1.
Main characteristics and findings of key studies examined the relation between VDBP and pregnancy-related clinical outcomes.
| Study ID | First author, year (reference) | Included subjects | Investigated outcome(s) | Key findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sørensen, 2016 (39) | 113 pregnant women whose offspring later developed T1D/220 pregnant controls | VDBP concentrations during pregnancy and subsequent risk for T1D development in the offspring | Lower third trimester VDBP concentrations associated with higher risk of T1D in the offspring |
| 2 | Wang, 2015 (40) | 692 women with GDM/802 pregnant controls | Whether Vitamin D related SNPs predispose to GDM development | rs3733359 allele-A was correlated with an increased GDM risk, in the obese subgroup |
| 3 | Kolialexi, 2017 (44) | 5 pregnant women with EOPE/5 pregnant controls | Identification of potential biomarkers for EOPE | VDBP in the first trimester was upregulated to 3.38-fold in the EOPE group |
| 4 | Mekbeb, 1990 (45) | 107 pregnant women with PE/132 pregnant controls | Relation between GC phenotype and PE risk | Gc 2-1 phenotype was expressed significantly in PE group compared to controls |
| 5 | Powe, 2010 (46) | 39 pregnant women with PE/131 pregnant controls | Relation between first trimester VDBP levels and subsequent PE risk | No association between VDBP concentrations, subsequent PE development and first trimester BP |
| 6 | Cleal, 2015 (33) | 85 pregnant women | Relation between maternal VDBP levels and placental expression of genes related to placental amino acid transport | VDBP levels were positively associated with placental expression of specific genes involved in amino acid transport |
| 7 | Wookey, 2017 (49) | Placentae from 18 pregnant women with FGR/17 gestation-matched healthy control subjects | Whether VDBP expression is altered in FGR-associated placental dysfunction | Significant reduction of placental VDBP concentrations in women with idiopathic FGR compared to controls |
| 8 | Liong, 2015 (50) | 12 pregnant women with preterm delivery/129 women as validation cohort | Identification of CVF biomarkers predictive of spontaneous preterm birth in women with symptoms of preterm labor | Albumin/VDBP ratio is more efficacious than fetal fibronectin in predicting spontaneous preterm delivery in symptomatic women within 7 days |
| 9 | Liong, 2013 (52) | 5 pregnant women with PROM/10 gestation-age matched controls | Identification of differentially expressed proteins in the CVF of asymptomatic women before the clinical manifestation of preterm PROM | VDBP was significantly increased (3.9-fold) in the PROM group |
| 10 | Tannetta, 2014 (47) | 10 non-pregnant women/10 women with normal pregnancy/10 women with EOPE/10 women with LOPE | Investigation of the actin scavenging system in PE | Actin-free VDBP plasma levels were lower in EOPE compared to normal pregnancies, still not statistically significantly |
| 11 | Szczepańska, 2015 (61) | 154 women with endometriosis-associated infertility/347 controls | Identification of genetic risk factors for endometriosis-associated infertility | Genotype distribution of GC rs1155563 and rs2298849 SNPs did not differ between patients and controls |
| 12 | Behrouz, 2013 (48) | 5 human placentas from normotensive pregnant women/sera from 20 normal and 20 women with severe PE | Investigation of placental proteins as targets for auto-antibodies in PE patients | VDBP of placental origin is a target for auto-antibodies detected in sera of women with PE |
| 13 | Chun, 2017 (53) | Maternal and umbilical cord blood from 356 pregnant women and their infants | Relation between maternal GC SNPs, 25(OH)D concentrations and infant birth weight | Low 25(OH)D concentrations in the maternal and cord blood were significantly associated with decreased birth weight among infants of mothers carrying the rs12512631 ‘C’ allele |
| 14 | Moon, 2017 (54) | 682 pregnant women (351 placebo, 331 cholecalciferol) | Relation between GC SNPs and the response to gestational cholecalciferol supplementation | GC rs2282679 positively correlated with achieved 25(OH)D status |
| 15 | Baca, 2018 (55) | 882 Black and 1796 White pregnant women | Relationship between maternal vitamin D receptor, GC, and CYP27B1 SNPs and 25(OH)D concentrations | The minor allele for rs7041 was related to increased 25(OH)D and rs4588 was associated with decreased 25(OH)D levels |
| 16 | Shao, 2017 (56) | 759 pregnant women | Relationship between vitamin D pathway genes, gene–environment interactions, and vitamin D levels | Gc-1f and Gc-1s genotypes had higher plasma 25(OH)D levels compared to women with Gc-2 genotype |
| 17 | Ganz, 2018 (57) | 26 third-trimester pregnant/28 lactating/21 non-pregnant and non-lactating women consuming a single amount of vitamin D | Metabolic effects of GC rs7041 SNP on vitamin D biomarkers | Increased VDBP concentrations were observed only in pregnant women with GG or GT genotypes |
| 18 | Park, 2016 (58) | 26 healthy pregnant/28 lactating/21 non-pregnant and non-lactating women consuming a single amount of vitamin D | The impact of the reproductive state on vitamin D biomarkers | Higher VDBP concentrations were observed in healthy pregnant women compared to non-pregnant controls |
| 19 | Doneray, 2018 (59) | 30 mother-neonate pairs with serum 25(OH)D < 10 ng/ml/30 mother–neonate pairs with serum 25(OH)D > 20 ng/ml | Relationship between serum 25(OH)D and VDBP levels in mother-neonate pairs | The maternal and neonatal vitamin D concentrations were negatively correlated with their VDBP concentrations |
| 20 | Franasiak, 2017 (60) | 39 infertile premenopausal women/29 regularly cycling fertile controls | Differences in VDBP concentrations between fertile and infertile women | VDBP concentrations were lower in the infertile group, compared to controls |
| 21 | Karras, 2018 (43) | 70 pairs of newly delivered neonates and their mothers | Relationship between vitamin D, VDBP, and the adipokines, adiponectin, and irisin in mothers and neonates at birth and their effects on neonate anthropometric outcomes | Independent positive correlation of maternal VDBP levels with adiponectin and irisin concentrations. Strong association of VDBP and adiponectin but not irisin was found in neonates |
VDBP, Vitamin D-binding protein; T1D, type 1 diabetes; GDM, gestational diabetes mellitus; SNP, single nucleotide polymorphism; PE, preeclamsia; EOPE, early onset preeclampsia; LOPE, late onset preeclampsia; Gc, group-specific component; BP, blood pressure; FGR, fetal growth restriction; CVF, cervicovaginal fluid; PROM, preterm premature rupture of the fetal membranes; 25(OH)D, 25-hydroxyvitaminn D.