title: Elevated serum sFlt-1/Ang-2 ratio in women with preeclampsia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  An imbalance of angiogenesis-associated factors may predispose to preeclampsia. Here, we determined the ratio of serum concentration of soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1), a natural inhibitor of pro-angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) relative to angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), a natural antagonist of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) involved in promoting angiogenesis in the presence of VEGF, in women with preeclampsia.
  
  
  METHODS
  The levels of serum sFlt-1 and Ang-2 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant decrease of serum Ang-2 and the increase of sFlt-1 were observed in women with preeclampsia as compared to healthy pregnant women. The serum sFlt-1/Ang-2 ratio was strikingly increased in preeclamptic women in contrast to healthy pregnant women exhibiting lower value similar to non-pregnant women. The serum sFlt-1 concentrations tended to positively correlate with mean blood pressure (BP) in preeclamptic women, but not in healthy pregnant women. A cut-off value >0.25 in the serum sFlt-1/Ang-2 ratio showed 87.1% sensitivity and 82.8% specificity in differentiating preeclamptic women from healthy pregnant women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The serum sFlt-1/Ang-2 ratio is significantly elevated in preeclamptic women as compared to healthy pregnant women. Remarkable difference of sFlt-1/Ang-2 ratio between these two groups with excellent specificity and sensitivity suggests the clinical usefulness of the serum sFlt-1/Ang-2 ratio in diagnosing and potentially predicting the onset of preeclampsia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirokoshi
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Maeshima
authors.forename: Kazuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Matsuura
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Yasushi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.forename: Hisashi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Masuyama
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hiramatsu
authors.forename: Hirofumi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Makino
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D042702:Angiopoietin-2 / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000097:blood*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D042702:Angiopoietin-2; D015415:Biomarkers; C501162:FLT1 protein, human; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1