The study of relationship between clinical charavtelization of intrauterine growth restriction and serum levels of angiogenetic factors ; placenta growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor.

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Deterioration of intrauterine environment may affect the placental angiogenesis, followed by intrauterine fetal growth restriction (IUGR). We therefore examined the serum levels of 2 important angiogenetic factors, placenta growth factor (PIGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in 47 women with IUGR and in 26 women with preeclampsia, and they were compared with those in 101 normal healthy pregnant women. In addition, serum levels of PIGF and VEGF during pregnancy in 7 women with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) which is known to be responsible for IUGR and intrauterine fetal death (IUFD). The 3 cases of 7 women developed intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) and 4 cases delivered healthy infants. In normal pregnant women, PIGF concentrations were widely distributed according to the number of weeks of gestation. Mean PIGF level within each five-week gestational-age interval began to increase in the second trimester, peaked at 26 to 30 weeks, and decreased thereafter. Both the serum PIGF levels in women with IUGR and in those with preeclampsia were significantly lower than in normal pregnant women. On the other hand, there were no statistically significant differences in VEGF levels between the women with IUGR and normal pregnant women, and between those with preeclampsia and normal pregnant women. In 3 women with APS who developed IUFD, serum P1GF levels were significantly lower than those in normal pregnant women as well as in 4 women with APS who delivered healthy infants, and were then decreased until IUFD had occurred. In contrast, in 4 women with APS who delivered healthy babies, serum levels of P1GF and their changes during pregnancy were consistent with normal controls. These findings suggested that the decreased serum PIGF levels could be a useful predictor for poor fetal outcome in women with APS.