Premium
Suppression of serum vascular endothelial growth factor immunoreactivity in normal pregnancy and in pre‐eclampsia
Author(s) -
Lyall Fiona,
Greer Ian A.,
Boswell Fiona,
Fleming Richard
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-0528.1997.tb11050.x
Subject(s) - eclampsia , medicine , vascular endothelial growth factor , venous blood , vegf receptors , pregnancy , endocrinology , preeclampsia , volunteer , obstetrics and gynaecology , gynecology , biology , agronomy , genetics
Objective To determine whether vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) concentrations are altered in pre‐eclampsia. Design Serum was prepared from peripheral venous blood and stored at −70°C. Serum VEGF concentrations were measured by ELISA. Setting University of Glasgow Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow. Participants Twenty‐two healthy nonpregnant volunteer women, 34 normal pregnant women and 34 women with pre‐eclampsia were studied. Results Serum concentrations of VEGF were significantly lower in normal pregnant women (median value 12.89 pg/mL) than in nonpregnant women (median value 166 pg/mL; P < 0.0001 ). In pre‐eclampsia VEGF concentrations were significantly lower (median value 2.34 pg/mL) than normal pregnancies ( P < 0.0001 ). Postpartum concentrations of VEGF in the group complicated by pre‐eclampsia (median value 76.42 pg/mL) were not significantly different from nonpregnant values ( P = 0.2 ). Conclusions Our results show that serum concentrations of VEGF are suppressed in pregnancy and further reduced in pre‐eclampsia. Further studies to elucidate the mechanisms which lead to a reduction in VEGF concentrations may provide new clues to the aetiology of this disorder.