Placenta growth factor (PlGF) is a member of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) family, comprising at least five cytokines specifically involved in the regulation of vascular and/or lymphatic endothelium differentiation. Several lines of evidence indicate a role for PlGF in monocyte chemotaxis and in potentiating the activity of VEGF, but the exact function of this cytokine is not fu...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study is to compare the circulating placental growth factor (PlGF) concentration in women with and without endometrioma to verify the performance of this marker to diagnose the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this case-control study, thirteen women with histological diagnosis of ovarian endometriosis were compared with women without endometriosis disease. PlGF pla...

Placental development requires extensive angiogenesis and the invasion of the maternal decidua by the trophoblasts. Adequate and organized interaction of vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGF), placenta growth factors (PlGF), and their receptors are essential for a normal development and function of the placenta. In this study, we evaluated the expressions of PlGFs and their receptors, mRNA...

The placental growth factor (PlGF) is a cysteine-knot protein, highly homologous to the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Initially described in placenta, it was subsequently demonstrated to be expressed in other tissues, including the lung and heart. Circulating levels of PlGF are normally undetectable. However, increased PlGF levels have been described under several pathological cond...

OBJECTIVE Pre-eclampsia (PE) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. In cases with PE there is a substantial increase in levels of the antiangiogenic factor soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and decreased levels of the proangiogenic factor placental growth factor (PlGF). Elevated levels of sFlt-1 are also found in individuals with cardiovascular d...

for at least a year with a median follow-up period of 20 months. The primary endpoint was death from any cause or a cardiovascular event including non-fatal newly developed CAD, stroke, peripheral arterial disease, aortic disease, and heart failure. During the follow-up period, there were 121 patients who reached a primary endpoint. An above-median PlGF level was associated with a hazard ratio ...

Neuropilin-1 and -2 (NP-1/NP-2) are transmembrane receptors that play a role in axonal guidance by binding of class III semaphorins, and in angiogenesis by binding of the vascular endothelial growth factor isoform VEGF165 and placenta growth factor (PLGF). We investigated the expression pattern of NP-1/NP-2, their co-receptors, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-1 and -2 (VEGFR-1, VEGF...

Embryo implantation requires synchronized dialogue between the receptive endometrium and activated blastocyst via locally produced soluble mediators. During the mid-secretory (MS) phase of the menstrual cycle, increased glandular secretion into the uterine lumen provides important mediators that modulate the endometrium and support the conceptus during implantation. Previously we demonstrated t...

Stromal-epithelial interactions play an important role in renal organogenesis. Expression of the forkhead/winged helix transcription factor FoxD1 (BF-2) is restricted to stromal cells in the embryonic renal cortex, but it mediates its effects on the adjacent ureteric bud and metanephric mesenchyme, which fail to grow and differentiate in BF-2 null mice. BF-2 is therefore likely to regulate tran...

Excessive post-operative wound healing with subsequent scarring frequently leads to surgical failure of glaucoma filtration surgery (trabeculectomy). We investigated the hypothesis that placental growth factor (PlGF) plays a role in post-operative scar formation, and that it therefore may be a target for improvement of filtration surgery outcome. ELISA experiments showed that PlGF levels were s...