Novel Angiogenic Factors for Predicting Preeclampsia: sFlt-1, PlGF, and Soluble Endoglin

Preeclampsia is a devastating multisystem syndrome and is a major cause of maternal, fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. Angiogenic factors contribute to the molecular mechanisms of preeclampsia and its main phenotypes such as hypertension and proteinuria. Very recently, novel anti-angiogenic proteins including soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and soluble endoglin (sEng), and one pro-angiogenic protein placental growth factor (PlGF) have been found to be significantly abnormal several weeks preceding the onset of clinical signs and symptoms. Automatic immunoassays are being developed for sFlt-1 and PlGF. This article will summarize our current knowledge of these markers and their roles on predicting preeclampsia.