Angiogenic growth factors in maternal and fetal serum in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction

Wenzel Wallner , Ruth Sengenberger , Reiner Strick , Pamela L Strissel , Britta Meurer , Matthias W Beckmann , Dietmar Schlembach (1)

1 Obstetrics and Gynecology

This study was performed to compare serum concentrations of maternal and fetal angiogenic growth factors in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and normal pregnancy at time of delivery. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PlGF), soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), soluble kinase domain receptor (sKDR), and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) were measured by means of ELISA in maternal peripheral vein, umbilical vein (UV) and umbilical artery (UA) serum in 15 women with IUGR and 16 controls. In IUGR sFlt-1 was increased and PlGF and sKDR decreased both in maternal and UV serum. Additionally bFGF was increased in UV serum in IUGR patients. No significant differences in growth factor concentrations between the groups could be found in UA serum. In both groups levels of VEGF were higher and levels of sFlt-1 lower in UV and UA compared to maternal serum. PlGF levels were found to be lower in UV serum compared to maternal blood in both groups, whereas UA PlGF levels were significantly lower in control patients only. These findings suggest an imbalance of angiogenic and anti-angiogenic factors in IUGR, with formation of an anti-angiogenic state in maternal, and to a lesser extent, umbilical venous blood. The placenta appears to play a central role through the release of sFlt-1 into maternal and umbilical blood. Umbilical arterial blood was unaffected in IUGR, indicating that the fetus does not contribute to changes in angiogenic growth factor concentrations.

Mots clés: Medicine

Wenzel Wallner, Ruth Sengenberger, Reiner Strick, Pamela L Strissel, Britta Meurer, et al.. Angiogenic growth factors in maternal and fetal serum in pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction. Clinical Science, 2006, 112 (1), pp.51-57. ⟨10.1042/CS20060161⟩. ⟨hal-00479330⟩