Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), a serum glycoprotein belonging to the onco-developmental proteins group, serves as a marker both in cancer research and in studies concerning fetal development and fetal pathophysiology. Monoclonal anti-AFP antibodies are essential reagents in developing appropriate techniques for measurement of this protein. In this study, in order to produce anti-AFP monoclonal antibody(mAb), AFP was partially purified from cord sera using two-step ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose with a final recovery of about 570 µg. MAbs against this preparation was raised by hybridoma technology using Ag8.653 mouse myeloma cells as the fusion partner. Hybridomas appeared in 10% (30/300) of culture wells and of these 2 clones were found to be positive for anti-AFP production. In western blot analysis a 70 kD band from dead fetus serum-but not adult serum-was stained by both mAbs. A sandwich ELISA technique using polyclonal antisera on one side and mAbs on the other side was employed to plot dose response curves. The positive dose dependent reactivity of the mAbs with standard AFP and other AFP containing samples and the negative reaction with normal adult sera lacking AFP showed the specificity of the mAbs for AFP.    

Background: Alpha-fetoprotein is produced during pregnancy by the yolk sac, and then by the fetal liver. This hormone is secreted from early pregnancy, but its level of measurement is important from 15 to 21 weeks of gestation. The secretion of this hormone is very important because an increase in this hormone is associated with neural tube defects (NTDs) in the fetus. In this study, we analyzed the association between polymorphism-119 G > A in the alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) gene with increased AFP levels in mothers with no neural tube defects in their fetus. Methods: Participants were 50 pregnant women who had high alpha-fetoprotein but no neural tube defects in their fetus (the case group) and 50 pregnant women that their alpha fetoprotein was normal with no neural tube defects in their fetus (control group). After DNA extraction, the fragment including the desired polymorphism was amplified using the PCR technique, and then sequenced. Results: The results of this study showed that there was no significant relationship between this polymorphism and the increase in alpha fetoprotein in the study population. Conclusion: Future studies are needed to investigate other polymorphisms with higher specimens, and the relationship between this polymorphism, and the survival rate of pregnant mothers in the Iranian population.

Background & Objective: Evaluation of the alpha-fetoprotein is one of the screening tests during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the level of alpha-fetoprotein in amniotic fluid (AF-AFP) and adverse pregnancy outcomes.Materials & Methods: This comparative analytical study was performed on 244 pregnant women who referred to a private prenatal clinic in Rasht (Iran). Amniocentesis was performed on pregnant women with maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MS-AFP) was higher than 2.5MoM in the second trimester and based on this finding, participants were divided into four groups of 61 patients. The first group (control group) included pregnant women with normal MS-AFP, the second group included pregnant women with high MS-AFP and normal AF-AFP, the third group included pregnant women with high MS-AFP and low AF-AFP and the fourth group included pregnant women with high MS-AFP and high AF-AFP.Results: Adverse outcomes include abortion (6.6%), stillbirth (6.6%), IUGR (18%), LBW (29.5%), PTL (21.3%), fetal abnormalities (4.9%), preeclampsia (14.8%), gestational diabetes (8.2%), in the fourth group (high AF-AFP) was higher than other groups. The incidence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the fourth group was 1.2 times higher than the control group, and this relationship was borderline statistically significant (P=0.056).Conclusion: Considering that adverse pregnancy outcomes are important causes of mortality and morbidity, early diagnosis of high-risk pregnancies and efforts for preventive interventions can be associated with reducing mortality and morbidity. Therefore, evaluation of the level AF-AFP can be helpful in determining adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Alpha-fetoprotein producing gastric cancer accounts for less than 10% of the gastric adenocarcinomas. Different histologic subtypes may exist, the least common of which is yolk sac morphology. To the best of our knowledge less than 10 cases have been reported with high alpha-fetoprotein and yolk sac components, either pure or mixed with ordinary adenocarcinoma of the stomach. During 10 years, from among more than 500 gastric adenocarcinoma cases that presented to the largest referral center in Southern Iran, two cases of gastric cancer with yolk sac components and high alphafetoprotein have been diagnosed, as presented in this case report.