aVEGF-A and its Soluble Receptor Type 1 (sVEGFR-1, sFlt-1) Concentrations in Pregnancies with Intrauterine Growth Restriction in the Presence or Absence of Preeclampsia

The aim of this study was to determine the maternal serum aVEGF-A and its soluble receptor type 1 (sVEGFR-1, sFlt-1) concentrations in pregnancies with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in the presence or absence of preeclampsia. The study was performed on 65 normotensive pregnant patients with isolated IUGR, 64 preeclamptic women with IUGR and 51 preeclamptic patients with normal intrauterine foetal growth and 65 healthy normotensive pregnant women with singleton uncomplicated pregnancies. The maternal serum active VEGF and sVEGFR-1 concentrations were determined using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The study revealed increased levels of aVEGF-A in patients with pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia and/or IUGR. But these differences were not statistically significant. The levels of aVEGF-A were decreased in the patients with HELLP syndrome and in the subgroup of patients with pregnancy complicated by eclampsia. This study revealed the higher serum sFlt-1 levels in both groups of preeclamptic patients and similar levels of sVEGFR-1 in normotensive patients with isolated IUGR to those observed in the control group. Findings presented in this study confirm the importance of aVEGF-A for the physiological course of pregnancy. Increased levels of sVEGFR-1, appear to be an important limitation, which may have a significant impact on the pathogenesis of severe preeclampsia and IUGR in the course of preeclampsia. Importantly, IUGR without preeclampsia does not present significant differences relative to physiological control for sVEGFR-1 levels, suggesting different aetiopathogenetic mechanisms leading to “pure” IUGR.