RT Journal Article T1 Maternal Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Levels Decrease during Early Pregnancy in Normotensive Pregnant Women but Are Higher in Preeclamptic Women-A Longitudinal Study. A1 Buell-Acosta, Julieth Daniela A1 Garces, Maria Fernanda A1 Parada-Baños, Arturo Jose A1 Angel-Muller, Edith A1 Paez, Maria Carolina A1 Eslava-Schmalbach, Javier A1 Escobar-Cordoba, Franklin A1 Caminos-Cepeda, Sofia Alexandra A1 Lacunza, Ezequiel A1 Castaño, Justo P A1 Nogueiras, Ruben A1 Dieguez, Carlos A1 Ruiz-Parra, Ariel Ivan A1 Caminos, Jorge Eduardo K1 FGF-21 K1 Menstrual cycle K1 Preeclampsia K1 Pregnancy AB (1) Background: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF-21) is an endocrine factor involved in glucose and lipid metabolism that exerts pleiotropic effects. The aim of this study was to investigate the serum FGF-21 profile in healthy and mild preeclamptic pregnant women at each trimester of pregnancy; (2) Methods: Serum FGF-21 levels were determined by ELISA in a nested case-control study within a longitudinal cohort study that included healthy (n = 54) and mild preeclamptic (n = 20) pregnant women, women at three months after delivery (n = 20) and eumenorrheic women during the menstrual cycle (n = 20); (3) Results: FGF-21 levels were significantly lower in the mid-luteal phase compared to the early follicular phase of the menstrual cycle in eumenorrheic women (p< 0.01). Maternal levels of FGF-21 were significantly lower in the first and second trimesters and peaked during the third trimester in healthy pregnant women (p < 0.01). Serum levels of FGF-21 in healthypregnant were significantly lower in the first and second trimester of pregnancy compared with the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle and postpartum (p < 0.01). Serum FGF-21 levels were significantly higher in preeclamptic compared to healthy pregnant women during pregnancy (p < 0.01); (4) Conclusions: These results suggest that a peak of FGF-21 towards the end of pregnancy in healthy pregnancy and higher levels in preeclamptic women might play a critical role that contributes to protecting against the negatives effects of high concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and hypertensive disorder. Furthermore, FGF-21 might play an important role in reproductive function in healthy eumenorrheic women during the menstrual cycle. PB MDPI YR 2022 FD 2022-07-17 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/20933 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/20933 LA en NO Buell-Acosta JD, Garces MF, Parada-Baños AJ, Angel-Muller E, Paez MC, Eslava-Schmalbach J, et al. Maternal Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Levels Decrease during Early Pregnancy in Normotensive Pregnant Women but Are Higher in Preeclamptic Women-A Longitudinal Study. Cells. 2022 Jul 21;11(14):2251 DS RISalud RD Apr 19, 2025