Expression and significance of placental growth factor and soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 in placenta and peripheral blood of preeclampsia patients

Objective To explore the roles of placental growth factor(PlGF) and soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1(sFlt-1) in pathogenesis of preeclampisa by determining mRNA expression of PlGF and sFlt-1 in placenta tissue as well as the levels in serum of preeclampsia patients.Methods Fifty-seven patients with preeclampsia(31 mild and 26 severe) and 60 normal pregnant women were enrolled.The mRNA expression of PlGF and sFlt-1 in placenta was determined by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and western blot.The levels of PlGF and sFlt-1 in serum were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA).Results The mRNA expression of PlGF in placentaand the mean concentration of PlGF in serum of preeclampsia patients were significantly lower than those in normal groups(P 0.01).The mRNA and protein of sFlt-1 in placenta and the mean concentration of sFlt-1 in serum of preeclampsia patients were also significantly higher than those in normal groups(P 0.01).There was a significant negative correlation between PlGF and sFlt-1 in serum of both mild and severe patients with preeclampsia(r =-0.49 and-0.53 respectively,P 0.05).Conclusions The rising level of sFlt-1 and dropping level of PlGF in placenta were strongly associated with the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.