title: Circulating levels of the anti-angiogenic thrombospondin 2 are elevated in pre-eclampsia.
abstract: An imbalance of maternal circulating pro- and anti-angiogenic factors may play a role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Thrombospondin 2 (TSP-2) is a protein expressed mainly by activated endothelial cells, which acts as a potent anti-angiogenic agent. Our aim was to determine whether serum TSP-2 levels are altered in pre-eclampsia. We enrolled 35 pre-eclamptic patients and 35 healthy pregnant women in the study. Thrombospondin 2 levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, while soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1) and placental growth factor (PlGF) concentrations were determined by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. In patients with PE, we demonstrated 1.7-fold higher TSP-2 [13.2 (9.4-18.1) vs. 7.9 (7.2-11.2) ng/ml, p<0.001], 3.8-fold higher sFlt-1 and 4.3-fold lower PlGF levels compared with the control group. There were no associations between TSP-2 and sFlt-1 or PlGF concentrations. We suggest that circulating TSP-2 levels may contribute to the pathogenesis of PE via its anti-angiogenic properties, but in a distinct way from sFlt-1 and PlGF.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Central Laboratory, Kútvölgyi Clinical Center, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. stenczerb@gmail.com
authors.forename: Balázs
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stenczer
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molvarec
authors.forename: Zoltán
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Veresh
authors.forename: Nóra
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Gullai
authors.forename: Gyula Richárd
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Szilvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walentin
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szijártó
authors.forename: János
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rigó
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins / Q000097:blood; D019699:Thrombospondins / Q000097:blood*; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1 / Q000097:blood; D000099262:Thrombospondin 2
chemical_list: D000072483:Placenta Growth Factor; D011257:Pregnancy Proteins; D019699:Thrombospondins; D040281:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-1; D000099262:Thrombospondin 2; C000608036:PGF protein, human