Plasma P-selectin is elevated in the first trimester in women who subsequently develop pre-eclampsia

Objective To report plasma concentrations of the adhesion cell molecule P-selectin during pregnancy to determine the effect of subsequent development of hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Design A longitudinal study. Methods A longitudinal study involving 70 women followed up from early pregnancy; 20 who subsequently developed pre-eclampsia were compared with 24 who developed gestational hypertension and 26 normotensive women with normal obstetric outcome. The determination of citrate plasma soluble P-selectin levels throughout pregnancy was performed using a commercial quantitative sandwich immunoassay kit. The temporal course of plasma P-selectin in the three groups of subjects was analysed. Results There was no significant difference in mean plasma P-selectin concentration between normotensive and gestational hypertensive subjects at any stage of pregnancy. Using a cutoff level of 60 ng/mL, P-selectin concentration at 10–14 weeks had a negative predictive value for pre-eclampsia of almost 99%. Mean plasma P-selectin concentrations were significantly elevated by 10–14 weeks in women who later developed pre-eclampsia (P<0.001). Conclusions Our data support an inflammatory model for pre-eclampsia whereby endothelial cell activation may be secondary to a primary inflammatory response. Plasma P-selectin has significant potential as a first trimester clinical marker of pre-eclampsia.