Circulating angiogenic factors in gestational proteinuria without hypertension.
OBJECTIVE
Our goal was to determine whether obstetric outcomes and serum angiogenic factors are altered in women with gestational proteinuria without hypertension.


METHODS
We performed a nested case-control study of 108 women with gestational proteinuria and compared them with 1564 randomly selected women with normotension without proteinuria during pregnancy (control subjects) and with 319 women who experienced preeclampsia.


RESULTS
Women with gestational proteinuria had greater body-mass index and higher blood pressure at study enrollment. Adverse obstetric outcomes were infrequent. Levels of free placental growth factor were lower than control levels beginning early in gestation. Compared with gestational-age matched control subjects, free placental growth factor was reduced beginning 6-8 weeks before proteinuria. Although soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 and soluble endoglin concentrations were elevated 1-2 weeks before proteinuria, these elevations were modest and transient. After the onset of proteinuria, angiogenic factor levels generally did not differ significantly from control levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Gestational proteinuria in healthy nulliparous women appears to be a mild variant of preeclampsia.
Holston
Alexander M
AM
Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA.
Qian
Cong
C
Yu
Kai F
KF
Epstein
Franklin H
FH
Karumanchi
S Ananth
SA
Levine
Richard J
RJ
D043925:Angiogenesis Inducing Agents / Q000097:blood*; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000071063:Endoglin; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000097:blood*; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000097:blood*; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000097:blood*; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / Q000097:blood*; D055815:Young Adult
D043925:Angiogenesis Inducing Agents; D015703:Antigens, CD; C064206:ENG protein, human; D000071063:Endoglin; C000608036:PGF protein, human; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1