Purpose: To evaluate the relation between CD34+ cells count in maternal blood and potential development of fetal congenital renal abnormalities.
Materials and methods: We enrolled 16 women that gave birth to newborns carrying congenital renal malformations over a 3-year period and 48 women with uncomplicated pregnancies (controls) in a 1:3 ratio (three controls per case).
Results: CD34+ cells in the maternal peripheral blood were significantly lower in the group of women who gave birth to newborns carrying congenital renal malformations compared to the controls (p < .0001).
Conclusions: CD34+ cells in maternal blood could be validated as a potential marker to predict the development of possible kidney malformations.
Keywords: CD34+; fetal kidney malformations; first trimester; hematopoietic stem cells; maternal.