title: Maternal serum ratio of ghrelin to obestatin decreased in preeclampsia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Ghrelin, an endogenous for the growth hormone secretagogue receptor, has been shown to participate in blood pressure regulation. Obestatin, encoded by the same gene as ghrelin, is described as a physiological opponent of ghrelin. We hypothesized that ghrelin/obestatin imbalance played a role in the pathogenesis. This study was designed to determine the alterations of ghrelin and obestatin concentrations and ghrelin/obestatin ratio in maternal serum in preeclampsia.
  
  
  METHODS
  This retrospective case-control study included 31 preeclampsia and 31 gestational week-matched normal pregnancies. Ghrelin and obestatin concentrations in maternal serum were determined by radioimmunoassay, and the ghrelin/obestatin ratio was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The ghrelin concentration and ghrelin/obestatin ratio in maternal serum were significantly lower in preeclampsia than in normal pregnancies (214.34±14.27pg/mL vs 251.49±16.15pg/mL, P=0.041, 1.07±0.09 vs 0.82±0.08, P=0.023). The obestatin concentration in maternal serum was significantly higher in preeclampsia than in normal pregnancies (276.35±15.38pg/mL vs 223.53±18.61pg/mL, P=0.019). The systolic blood pressure in preeclampsia was negatively correlated with ghrelin concentration and ghrelin/obestatin ratio (r=-0.549, P=0.003; r=-0.491, P=0.004) and was positively correlated with obestatin concentrations in preeclampsia (r=0.388, P=0.013).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study suggested disturbance of ghrelin and obestatin in maternal serum in preeclampsia, and ghrelin/obestatin imbalance might play a role in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Affiliated Hospital, Logistical College of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces, Tianjin 300162, PR China.
authors.forename: Weiguang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Maternity & Children Hospital of Northwest District, Shaanxi, Xi'an 710003, PR China. Electronic address: xbfan@126.com.
authors.forename: Xiaobin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Shaanxi, Xi'an 710033, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuecheng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Affiliated Hospital, Logistical College of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces, Tianjin 300162, PR China.
authors.forename: Yingchun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D054439:Ghrelin / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000097:blood*; D036361:Peptide Hormones / Q000097:blood; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D054439:Ghrelin; D036361:Peptide Hormones
keywords: Blood pressure; Ghrelin; Obestatin; Preeclampsia; Pregnant complication