Evaluation of maternal serum galectin-9 levels in pregnancies with the threat of preterm birth

Aim: Galectins expressed in various locations in the maternal-fetal interface play a role primarily in immunomodulation, embryo implantation, trophoblast invasion, and angiogenesis, which are early pregnancy events. Therefore, they are responsible for the physiological and healthy course of pregnancy. We aimed to evaluate the usability of the Galectin-9 (Gal-9) marker in predicting the risk of preterm birth.Material and Methods: This prospective study included 40 singleton pregnancies (20-37 weeks) with threatened preterm labor and 40 healthy pregnancies without obstetric complications. The maternal Galectin-9 levels in serum were measured.Results: No statistically significant difference was found in terms of maternal Galectin-9 levels between the preterm labor and control groups (p=0.758). In pregnancies with threatened preterm labor, white blood cell (WBC) levels were found to be statistically lower than in the control group (p=0.046). There was a significant positive correlation between systolic blood pressure level and WBC level (p=0.015). A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the WBC level and the Galectin-9 level (p=0.007).Discussion: There is no relationship between maternal Galectin-9 level and threatened preterm labor in complicated pregnancies.