Changes and clinical significance of serum hypoxia-inducible factor-1α, vascular endothelial growth factor and endothelin-1 levels in neonates with hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension

Objective To analyze the changes of serum hypoxia-inducible factor-1α(HIF-1α), vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) and endothelin-1(ET-1) levels in neonates with hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension(HPH), and to explore the roles of three factors in the pathogenesis of HPH in neonates. Methods A total of 50 neonates with HPH in the neonatal intensive care unit as HPH group and another 25 non-HPH hospitalized neonates with similar clinical data in the same period as control group were enrolled from January 2014 to December 2017.The levels of serum HIF-1α, VEGF and ET-1 were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay when neonates were diagnosed as HPH and their pulmonary artery systolic blood pressure(PASP) decreased to 35 mmHg below respectively.The changes of three factors levels were analyzed and compared with those of control group at the same time point. Results (1) The levels of serum HIF-1α, VEGF and ET-1 of HPH group were significantly higher than those of the control group (F value were 151.97, 43.31, and 129.56 respectively, all P 0.05) in addition to serum ET-1 levels (F=14.98, P<0.05). Conclusion High levels of HIF-1α, VEGF and ET-1 caused by hypoxia may play an important role in neonatal HPH. Key words: Hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension; Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α; Vascular endothelial growth factor; Endothelin-1; Neonate,