Open AccessCirculating levels of the anti‐angiogenic thrombospondin 2 are elevated in pre‐eclampsia
Author(s) -
STENCZER BALÁZS,
MOLVAREC ATTILA,
VERESH ZOLTÁN,
GULLAI NÓRA,
NAGY GYULA RICHÁRD,
WALENTIN SZILVIA,
SZIJÁRTÓ JÁNOS,
RIGÓ JÁNOS
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
acta obstetricia et gynecologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.401
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1600-0412
pISSN - 0001-6349
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0412.2011.01220.x
Subject(s) - placental growth factor , pathogenesis , thrombospondin , medicine , thrombospondin 1 , eclampsia , endocrinology , soluble fms like tyrosine kinase 1 , vascular endothelial growth factor , angiogenesis , pregnancy , vegf receptors , biology , metalloproteinase , matrix metalloproteinase , genetics
Abstract An imbalance of maternal circulating pro‐ and anti‐angiogenic factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of pre‐eclampsia. Thrombospondin 2 (TSP‐2) is a protein expressed mainly by activated endothelial cells, which acts as a potent anti‐angiogenic agent. Our aim was to determine whether serum TSP‐2 levels are altered in pre‐eclampsia. We enrolled 35 pre‐eclamptic patients and 35 healthy pregnant women in the study. Thrombospondin 2 levels were determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay, while soluble fms‐like tyrosine kinase‐1 (sFlt‐1) and placental growth factor (PlGF) concentrations were determined by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. In patients with PE, we demonstrated 1.7‐fold higher TSP‐2 [13.2 (9.4–18.1) vs. 7.9 (7.2–11.2) ng/ml, p <0.001], 3.8‐fold higher sFlt‐1 and 4.3‐fold lower PlGF levels compared with the control group. There were no associations between TSP‐2 and sFlt‐1 or PlGF concentrations. We suggest that circulating TSP‐2 levels may contribute to the pathogenesis of PE via its anti‐angiogenic properties, but in a distinct way from sFlt‐1 and PlGF.