Retrospective case-control study of apolipoprotein J/Clusterin protein expression in early liveborn neonatal deaths with and without pontosubicular necrosis

Abstract

Aims. Our objective was to examine Apo J protein expression in a total of 27 early liveborn neonatal deaths (less than 7 days of age) selected from the Scottish Perinatal Study (gestation of 2542 weeks) comparing a group with histological pontosubicular necrosis (PSN) (n = 12) to a control group lacking PSN (n = 15). Methods. Using immunohistochemistry we evaluated postmortem pons and hippocampus from patients with PSN versus controls. Results. In the group with PSN, 11/12 (92) cases showed positive Apo J neurones in the hippocampus/pons compared with 6/15 (40) cases without PSN (P = 0.014, odds ratio 27.5, 95 confidence interval 2.881262.48, using exact logistic regression)independent of gestation, presence or absence of clinical asphyxia, duration of labour, or postnatal age. Clinical asphyxia was present in 10/15 (67) without PSN compared with 11/12 (92) with PSN. Neuronal Apo J positivity was present in 15/21 (71) of clinically asphyxiated cases compared with 2/6 (33) of the cases with no evidence of clinical asphyxia (P = 0.154, odds ratio 5, 95 confidence interval 0.71 to 34.94). Conclusions. Apo J neuronal protein expression is significantly increased in cases with PSN compared to cases without PSNindependent of gestation, presence of clinical asphyxia, duration of labour, or postnatal age. © 2012 Kathreena M. Kurian and Declan McGuone.