title: Assessment of vascular endothelial growth factor, basic fibroblast growth factor, and transforming growth factor levels in amniotic fluid.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To measure amniotic fluid levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta2 and to characterize their levels with respect to advancing gestational age and pregnancy-related complications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Amniotic fluid was collected from a total of 37 patients, 2 of whom had twin pregnancies. Twenty-seven specimens were collected in the second trimester and 10 specimens were collected in the third trimester. VEGF, bFGF and TGF-beta2 were isolated from centrifuged amniotic fluid and quantified using commercially available ELISA kits. Concentrations of growth factors were expressed in pg/mL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The growth factors under investigation were present in most but not all amniotic fluid specimens throughout pregnancy. The levels of VEGF, bFGF and TGF-beta2 were inconsistent and did not show a statistically significant association with gestational age, number of fetuses, or the presence of hypertension and/or diabetes. One significant finding emerged from the data: smokers had significantly higher amniotic fluid levels of VEGF compared to nonsmokers (p = 0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VEGF, bFGF and TGF-beta2 are detectable in second and third trimester amniotic fluid. Smoking appears to correlate with increased amniotic fluid VEGF during pregnancy. VEGF may represent a molecular marker of hypoxia and is an interesting focus for future investigation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA. bedaiwymmm@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bedaiwy
authors.forename: Janet M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Burlingame
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hussein
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Flyckt
authors.forename: Radwan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Assad
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Falcone
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012907:Smoking / Q000378:metabolism; D053781:Transforming Growth Factor beta2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D053781:Transforming Growth Factor beta2; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2