Dosage PlGF, sVEGFR-1, sEng in maternal serum e preeclampsia: preliminary study

Preeclampsia is responsible for 10-15% of maternal deaths during pregnancy. According to recent hypotheses on the pathogenesis of the disease, two factors play a key role in the process of remodeling of the maternal arteries: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Placental Growth Factor (PlGF). The VEGF may be particularly active during pregnancy. The receptor of this growth factor, called sVEGFR-1, just because of placental ischemia, appears to be over-expressed in preeclamptic placentas of women and, consequently, this may antagonize the effects of VEGF and PlGF. Other studies have demonstrated the involvement in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia of another antiangiogenic soluble factor produced by the placenta, the soluble endoglin (sEng). Our study evaluates the values of PlGF, sVEGFR-1 and sEng in maternal serum in order to assess their predictive value for the onset of preeclampsia. Between 2011 and 2012, at the Institute of Pathology Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the University Hospital "Policlinico-Vittorio Emanuele" of Catania were enrolled 20 women in the first trimester of pregnancy divided into two groups, at-risk group (12) and control group (8). For 3 of the 12 patients in the risk group, was given the diagnosis of pre-eclampsia. The median concentration of sEng and sVEGFR-1 was significantly higher in women compared to diseased women at risk and to the controls while the median concentration of PlGF was much lower in women sick than the other two groups, with highly significant differences (P <0.01).