First trimester maternal serum concentrations of fetal antigen 2 in normal pregnancies and those affected by trisomy 21

Serum concentrations of fetal antigen 2 (FA-2), the amino-propeptide of the alpha1 chain of collagen type I, were measured in peripheral blood from women with normal (n = 234) and trisomy 21 affected (n = 14) pregnancies between 9 and 11 weeks gestation. Serum FA-2 concentrations were seen to be stable throughout this period, and though raised FA-2 concentrations were seen at the 10th week of gestation, a statistically significant difference between normal and trisomy 21 affected pregnancies was not found overall. Therefore it seems unlikely that FA-2 has a role in first trimester screening for trisomy 21, despite the fact that significantly higher FA-2 concentrations in trisomy 21 and significantly lower concentrations in trisomy 18 had been previously demonstrated in amniotic fluid in the second trimester.