Implication of umbilical cord in preeclampsia.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the role of biochemical changes in the umbilical cord and placenta in developing preeclampsia (PE).


METHODS
Thirty women with PE and 15 healthy pregnant women as controls were enrolled in this study. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 (sVEGFR-1), platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF), neutrophil elastase and nitric oxide (NO) were measured.


RESULTS
Both serum (maternal and fetal) and tissue (placenta and umbilical cord) levels of VEGF, sVEGFR-1, PD-ECGF and neutrophil elastase were significantly increased, whereas NO was significantly decreased (except placental tissue showed no changes) in preeclamptic patients. The cord serum level of PD-ECGF was significantly higher in severe PE compared to mild PE and normal pregnant women. The placental and cord tissue levels of PD-ECGF and neutrophil elastase were significantly higher in severe PE, while the cord tissue level of NO was significantly lower in severe PE.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data showed that umbilical cord vessels and stroma can serve as an additional source of vasoactive and angiogenic substances that contribute to the biochemical changes occurring in PE.
Department of Biochemistry, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. ragaa_2002 @ yahoo.com
Ragaa H M
RH
Salama
Mohamed M F
MM
Fathalla
Abdel-Raheim M
AR
Mekki
Bakheet El-Kot M
Bel-K
Elsadek
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019272:Leukocyte Elastase; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D010920:Placenta; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013939:Thymidine Phosphorylase; D014470:Umbilical Cord; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1
D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D013939:Thymidine Phosphorylase; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1; D019272:Leukocyte Elastase